It Only Takes a Couple of Days
by nightfuryshadows
Summary: TurboTime's first day has officially begun at Litwak's arcade. But, it doesn't take long for things to go downhill for Turbo and the twins. After all, there's just some things we can't change about ourselves, even if we want to. It's how we're programmed; it's in our code. No one can change that, right? (Rated T for certain themes and language in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1 - Rude Awakenings

_Hi everyone!_

 _Before you get to reading, I just want to thank you so much for doing so! This story took over 7 months to complete! I started it May of last year, and finished it on December 31st! Like me, it's been through a lot in that bit of time, and for 3 months it'd come to a standstill due to so many things happening to me all at once. But I swore to myself I'd finish it before 2019, and here it is!_

 _This is, by far, the longest story I have ever written on my own in my life. But my favorite thing about it is this:_

 _I HAD NO PLAN AT ALL_

 _This story's very first sentences are as they were over 7 months ago. I made no plan going into this, I just kept writing, and if it went one way it was just 'welp guess this is happening now'. I deleted next to nothing in this story, everything is as it was the day I wrote it. Of course I changed sentence structures and things like that, but you get my point!_

 _Writing this was such an adventure and, believe it or not, it changed a lot of things in my life._

 _Please enjoy! ^w^_

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Chapter 1 - Rude Awakenings

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Closed eyes slowly opened. The light of day (rather, artificial day) met the bearer's sight, and he gazed around, taking in his first look at life. He appeared to be placed in the middle of a ring, a ring that his subconscious told him was a racetrack. The yellowish-brown surface of the track itself stood out against the prominent, green grass surrounding it. Directly behind the figure was, to his surprise, two other characters. He turned, getting his first look at the rivals of his existence.

Both characters, who cast each other a glance, turned their attention to the shorter figure before them. Both they and the other character had similar thoughts as their gazes met. Names came into their heads, names of the people/person they were looking at.

"Turbo?" One of them spoke up.

Turbo's attention turned to him, then the other, thinking of their names respectively before making them vocal himself. "Ted...and Ned?" He questioned, something in his code telling him that these were the correct names to call them. Something else, as if a back thought in his mind, told him he was related to the two, and that they were related themselves. All three were brothers, he assumed.

Both Ted and Ned glanced at each other again before looking slightly up. Turbo's gaze followed theirs and he turned, curious to see what they were viewing. Up, adjacent to the sky, was a screen of sorts. At its center was a man they did not recognize, looking down at them.

"Well, there they are, clear as day!" He said, smiling at them. "Let's just get a quarter in there and see how this plays out."

A small clinking sound was heard, somehow below the racers' feet, as if it had come from underneath the ground itself. And, upon this, something switched in their minds. Something made them walk, then jog, to cars they hadn't noticed before, placed at the starting line of the racetrack. Turbo took note of the red car in the middle of two blue ones, the three cars all having a white stripe down their sides and a tail fin on their backs.

Hopping into the vehicles, the three gripped their respective steering wheels and gazed forward with looks of determination. Turbo found himself smiling, glancing to the twins on either side him. Something told him to win, that he was supposed to win. A song played in the backdrop of the game's atmosphere, and a voice spoke up.

"Ready? GO!"

Suddenly, all three shot forward, slamming their gas pedals. Turbo, at first, was a bit shocked. Not due to the speed, but due to the fact that he felt like he was being controlled. His gaze momentarily flicked up to the man in the screen, who was looking down at them with pursed lips.

"Seems everything's going smoothly," He murmured, and he turned, as if he was going to speak to someone that Turbo couldn't see. It was then that the control possessing Turbo stalled, and he was forced to continue going straight rather than turning at the upcoming curve. The man must have let go of the steering wheel controls as he had looked away, only testing the game as it was.

Turbo's eyes widened and every bit of him told him to jam the wheel to the left. But something told him he couldn't, that it was against the program of what world he was living in. He watched with widened eyes as the wall came dangerously close, and he promptly shut them as his vehicle made contact. Darkness met his vision at this time, and soon, he was flashing back into existence at the last part of the track he had been touching.

Blinking open his gaze as his regeneration completed, Turbo felt something in his mind prompt annoyance. Whoever this person was, he seemed to have no care regarding whether Turbo won or lost. And, in Turbo's mind, this was a disgrace. He HAD to win, he was supposed to. Glowering ahead, he started as the car suddenly began to move again and he was led through the final turn, passing over the finish line. And, to Turbo's further annoyance, he was dead last.

A force told him to hop out of the car and head towards a podium that was near the furthest stands, filled with unidentified, pixelated people. Stepping up onto the lowest tier, his gaze flicked up as one of the twins, whom he identified as Ted, took the trophy that had come into existence before him. A forced smile creeped its way onto Turbo's features as he looked at the screen before the control over him disappeared.

"Well, time to close up! Thanks for bringing this in, guys." The man on the other side of the screen stated, taking a few steps back before disappearing from sight. The lights within the outside world flickered off as the building was now empty.

As his body relaxed, Turbo's scowl returned and he trudged off the podium, stalking towards his vehicle. The twins, who also stepped off the podium, exchanged glances and began to head after the shorter racer.

"Turbo, are you okay?" One asked, and Turbo turned to look at him in his peripheral vision. Ned was the one who had spoken, his expression worried. This vexed Turbo, for a reason he couldn't identify.

"Oh, yeah I'm just great, thanks for asking." He growled, returning to his seat in his car and gripping the steering wheel with whitened knuckles. Ned flinched back at the evident sarcasm in his brother's voice.

The other twin, Ted, now looked as annoyed as Turbo was. He watched as Turbo's gaze seemed to flick towards the trophy in his hands, and the twin scoffed. "Are you mad about losing?" He inquired, his eyes narrowing as Turbo grit his teeth.

"Oh, no, what makes you think that?" Turbo retorted, not looking at Ted or Ned.

Ted's eyes narrowed further and he took a step towards Turbo and his car. "Don't be such a baby, Turbo. You're going to lose sometimes, deal with it."

"It's not that I just lost, it's the fact it was my first race AND I lost! You numbskull NPC's shouldn't have beaten me!" Turbo snapped, and before Ted to could respond, Turbo slammed the gas and sped off, leaving the twins in his dust.

The twins coughed for a moment until the particles dissipated, both attempting to wave it away with their hands. Ted watched with a fire in his eyes as Turbo headed into the garage that was off-screen to the outside world. Turning to look at the trophy in his grip, Ted scoffed and swiveled to get into his own car. "C'mon Ned, let's go."

It didn't take too long for the twins to enter the garage as well. They parked their cars in their respective places before hopping out and heading towards the door that was to the side. Allowing Ned to enter first, Ted gave a last glance at Turbo's car with a glare before heading in behind his brother.

The interior of their house wasn't exactly glamourous, but it was enough. Upon entering, directly in front of Ted and Ned was what appeared to be a living room, furnished with a couch, a television, a table, and a few windows. Ted stepped into the room a bit further, placing his trophy on the table that was present. To their right was a staircase, and both twins promptly made their way up it. As they arrived at the top, they found themselves at the beginning of a hallway, with two doors across from each other on either sides of the walls.

Looking between the two doors, the twins took a guess as to which one was theirs. Ted opened the door to the left, but jolted as he was met with Turbo's figure in front of him. Turbo appeared to have been about ready to take off his helmet, his back to the door. But, upon hearing it open, his head whipped to face them, his eyes narrowed. "Get out."

Ted's expression shifted to that of anger and he backed up, slamming the door shut. Ned flinched at the loud noise it caused, his hands drawn up in a nervous gesture as Ted turned to look at him. The twin's expression softened and he murmured a sorry before casting a glare to the entrance of Turbo's room. "He should lighten up. There's no reason for him to be ticked." He muttered.

"Yes there is! Don't you guys have some dirt to lick instead of gossiping outside my door?!" Came Turbo's voice from behind the door, and Ted's glare narrowed. Before he could snap anything back, Ned quickly shook his head in a silent gesture of pleading peace. Ted sighed and gazed to the adjacent door before opening it and heading inside. Ned stepped in after him, closing the door behind him.

Turbo himself was filled with an annoyance he couldn't place, and that angered him further. Glaring at the door behind him, he debated giving it a kick, though he thought otherwise before turning towards his bed. Flopping down on it after removing his helmet, which was now placed on the bedside table, Turbo glared at the ceiling with all the anger in his heart.

"Idiot twins, they're NPC's, they're not SUPPOSED to win." He growled under his breath, his thoughts darkening as time passed. He began trying to process what his existence meant, and how he knew what he did. He knew he was a racer, the greatest racer at that. He knew his life was that of a game, his freedom limited in the waking hours of what he identified as an arcade. He wondered how he knew these things, his annoyance fading as he slowly began to forget about the race and started thinking of wandering topics.

Ted and Ned, on the other hand, were talking quietly among themselves. Ned was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Ted was anxiously pacing, back and forth he moved across the span of the room. "What are we, Ted…?" Ned breathed, his voice quiet and soft.

Ted found the answer coming to him faster than he thought. "We're in a game, I think," He responded, one hand up to his mouth in consideration. He stopped pacing and turned to look at his twin. "We're racers, I know that. It's what we're supposed to do, it's in our code."

"Code?" Ned responded, his head lifting.

Ted nodded, beginning to pace again. "It's what we're made of. And, that man on the screen, he was a player. He controls what Turbo does."

"Why doesn't he control us too?" Ned questioned, his dangling legs swaying.

Ted thought for a moment and recalled what Turbo referred to them as earlier. "I think we're NPC's. Non-playable characters. We're programmed to be Turbo's competition."

"Is that all we are…?" Ned whispered, his voice sounding hesitant.

Ted paused his gait, surprise filling him at Ned's uncertainty. "No—no of course not!" He replied, turning at that. He sat beside Ned, wrapping his arm around his twin's shoulder. "I'm positive we're more than that. We're brothers, and that counts for something." Pausing, he muttered under his breath, "Even if we are brothers to Turbo too."

"Does Turbo hate us…?" Ned responded after a moment, prompting Ted to shake his head.

"He's just upset because he didn't win. I think that's going to be a recurring thing, so we should try and get used to it. He seems to be a bit of a short fuse."

Ned nodded slightly, his mood beginning to drop further. "I wish Turbo could be happy," He stated, resting a bit of his weight against Ted. "I don't want him to be mad at us just because we did what we're programmed to do."

Ted allowed his cheek to lay against the top of Ned's helmet as Ned began to relax. "He won't be mad forever, he's just being a baby. He'll get over it."

This seemed to comfort Ned slightly, who grew quiet. Ted listened to the sound of his twin's breathing, his thoughts racing around his mind. He debated talking to Turbo about what happened, but it seemed pointless as he thought about it more. Turbo would just snap back at them again. He then briefly considered having Ned talk to Turbo instead since he was a bit kinder, but quickly pushed that away. If Turbo did snap back, his sensitive brother would only grow more hurt. He couldn't take Turbo's snapping comebacks as well as Ted himself could.

"What do we do…?" Ned questioned, and Ted blinked as Ned's voice was shaking.

"Woah, are you okay?" Ted responded quickly, drawing back to look his brother in the eyes.

Ned returned the gaze, his pupils flicking ever so slightly back and forth as he studied Ted's face. Drawing in a slow breath, his brows furrowed and he slowly shook his head. This prompted Ted's expression to grow increasingly worried. "What's wrong?"

"I...I just think that Turbo is going to be unhappy all the time…" He breathed, looking to the door as if he expected Turbo to appear. "I don't want him to be mad at us…"

Ted bit his a lip a little in thought. "I'm sure he'll be okay, his day just started off bad."

"But...but if he had won instead, we would have been happy for him…! W-Why can't he do the same for us?" Ned rasped out, and Ted blinked as he watched tears form in Ned's eyes.

"Hey—it's okay, don't cry, it's okay," Ted began in a slight panic, hugging Ned to him as if on instinct. Ned stiffened at this, but gradually began to relax as he allowed his head to bury into the side of Ted's neck. Though, to Ted's further anxiety, Ned began to shake and breathe raggedly through his nose.

"Why can't he be happy for us...w-what did we do to him?"

For a moment, Ted felt some sort of resentment at Turbo for causing Ned to get upset like this. He tried to push it away, but it festered further as Ned only shuddered more. "Hey...hey...it's okay...don't cry bro…" He breathed, hugging his twin a bit tighter. He hoped this would relay his care so Ned wouldn't feel so dejected.

Luckily for Ted, Ned seemed to take it this way after a few more ragged breaths, and he began to grow calmer and quieter. It was silent in the room again, though Ted's head pricked as he heard a creak outside. His brows raised as he lifted his head, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Turbo, if you're out there, what do you want?" He stated, though it came out more annoyed than he would have wanted, considering Ned's emotional level. Ned stiffened at this, and Ted quickly murmured an apology as the door opened.

Turbo stepped into the room, but it seemed like he wanted to leave the moment he did. Regardless, he shut the door behind him and leaned back against it, crossing his arms. Ted only stared at him, waiting to see what he would say. Ned looked up as well, though only slightly, one eye visible. After the silence pressed on for a few more moments, Ted rolled his eyes and spoke up. "What is it?"

Turbo looked down, seeming to be thinking of what to say. After he said nothing, Ted decided to prompt the conversation further. "How much of this did you hear?"

Turbo opened his mouth to reply, but shut it and glowered off to the side, his crossed arms tightening their positions. "Not much." He replied flatly.

"Not much? What did you hear first?" Ted responded, a bit impatient at Turbo's vague reply.

Turbo didn't respond right away again, but Ted decided to let the silence hang until Turbo would grow uncomfortable enough to talk.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

Ted jolted, his eyes widening. Ned's head lifted further, and Turbo flinched as he looked at the two of them and saw Ned's tear stained cheeks. "I'm sorry, I…" He looked as though he was now forcing the words through his teeth. "I shouldn't have done that to you guys."

As if a cat had gotten hold of his tongue, Ted was speechless, his mind buzzing with possible replies. Was Turbo being serious? He couldn't tell, but before he could open his mouth, Ned spoke up.

"I-it's okay...we're not mad at you."

Turbo blinked, his gaze flicking to Ted. The emotion in the shorter racer's eyes made Ted shift a little; it was as if Turbo was silently asking if this were true. Turbo knew that Ned wouldn't have been mad at him, but the reliability of this statement regarding Ted made him uncertain.

"Uh...yeah, yeah," Ted stammered out, his gaze flicking to Ned before it returned to Turbo. "We're not mad."

Turbo seemed to visibly relax, but his expression stated otherwise. "Can we start over?" He asked, quietly at that. Ted almost didn't hear him, and Ned sat up as Turbo spoke. Ted blinked as he noticed a small smile on Ned's face, and he released his twin from his hold.

"Yeah," Ned began, his eyes a little brighter than before. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He added.

Ted murmured a word of agreement, and he swore he saw guilt flash in Turbo's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had existed, now replaced with a stony expression. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, thanks." Turbo stated dismissively.

Ted quickly turned his attention back to Ned, fearing his twin would be hurt by this, but it didn't seem to affect him. "Let's just get this over with," Ted started, earning Turbo's attention. "We need to figure out what's going on."

* * *

 _Tis the beginning! Next chapter will be uploaded on Sunday!_

 _Leave a review if you liked it, or just have any comments in general!_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	2. Chapter 2 - Learning is Stressful

Chapter 2 - Learning is Stressful

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Turbo stood up straight from where he had been leaning, heading over to one of the chairs that was within the room. He dragged it over to the twins' bed and promptly sat down, gazing at the two of them with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want to know?"

Ted and Ned glanced at each other, forming questions in their head. "Where are we…? I know there's a world out there, one that's not ours." Ned began, and Turbo looked to the window that was behind them, gazing out at what he could see. The track and podium were visible, and a hint of the screen that led to the outside was peeking through.

"We're in an arcade." Before either of the twins could ask for clarification, Turbo continued. "It's a place where a bunch of games are located for players to interact with. There's an entrance to a wire at the far end of our game, and I think it leads to a place where all of the games are gathered."

"How do you know?" Ted inquired, briefly wondering this about himself, too. How had he known what he did earlier?

"I just do." Turbo replied bluntly, looking to each of them. "Probably because I'm the main character. I know that there's other games, like us, but also different. Not every game here is a racing game, in fact, I don't think there are any others."

"What are the other games like?" Ned questioned, now causing Turbo to shrug.

"I wouldn't know unless we headed out there to check it out. Maybe we can get more answers than what we already know." He responded, now getting up. "We might as well do it now, while the arcade is closed."

"It's 'closed'? What does that mean?" Ned said as he and Ted got up as well.

"It just means that there's no one here to play the games, and that we're free to do whatever we want. When it opens, there are gamers that will play our game for the day."

"Oh...that's cool," Ned breathed, seeming amazed at what Turbo knew. The trio of racers left the twins' room and headed downstairs, leaving through the garage to begin their trek to the exit of the game. As they arrived, Turbo inspected the train that was present. It was rather small, and had the logo of their game plastered on the side.

"I guess this leads to the hub," Turbo suspected, gazing it over before getting into one of the cars. Ted and Ned parroted this, squeezing into the car that Turbo was in, much to Turbo's annoyance. After a few moments, the train began to move steadily, gliding over the mass of wires that were the walls and floor of the tunnel they were in. Ned watched with wide eyes as sparks and blips of electricity flashed as the train passed through, and he inched closer to Ted as if he feared he would get shocked.

It didn't take too long for the train to arrive at its destination, and the brothers on board got off, taking their first steps outside of their game. A tunnel led out towards a brighter area, and Turbo could hear a lot of voices and clamoring as they got closer. "Turbo Time monorail arrived, welcome to Game Central Station." A woman's voice stated overhead, causing the twins' heads to prick up.

"Game Central Station?" Ted questioned, though there wasn't a reply from the woman who had spoken before.

"It must be where all the games are connected." Turbo responded, referring to the end of the tunnel as well as the name that had been granted to them by the strange woman. As they neared the end of the passageway, the three racers squinted as they were met with a bright atmosphere and many various characters.

At first, it seemed like no one had noticed them. But, gradually, a few characters took note of the newcomers and headed over to them, smiling in greeting. Turbo had never seen them before, so he had no idea what their names were, where they were from, or what their games entailed. Though, as he began to engage in conversation, he learned bits and pieces of what he needed to know. The twins didn't say much, as they were huddled together behind Turbo and taking in the sights.

As the characters that had been speaking to him left, Turbo turned as he noticed someone else heading towards them. He was a relatively short character, wearing a blue shirt and a tool belt, with darker blue pants and a hat of the same hue as his shirt. Turbo managed to get a look at the name tag that was on his shirt, mouthing out the name.

"Hey there, neighbors! Welcome to Litwak's Arcade!" He greeted, reaching his hand out to shake Turbo's own. "I'm Felix, from the game Fix It Felix Jr.!"

Turbo accepted the handshake, giving a side glance to the twins as he did so. "I'm Turbo, from the game TurboTime," He replied, clearing his throat to get the twins' attention. Both racer's heads pricked at him, then turned to Felix.

"Oh—hi!" Ted began, he and Ned stepping up closer to Turbo. "I'm Ted, and this is Ned, we're also from TurboTime!"

"Well, it's mighty nice to meet you!" Felix said with a smile, gazing around at the station that encased the characters of the arcade. "It's pretty great, isn't it?" He continued, prompting Turbo and the twins to look around as well.

"It's crazy, that's for sure." Turbo replied, looking back to Felix. "How do things work around here?" He didn't mean to spring the question on so suddenly, but it came out of his mouth regardless.

Felix didn't seem to mind, turning to Turbo with a smile. "Well, this here is Game Central Station. Your guys' plug is right there," He gestured behind them, "And the other games' plugs are scattered around. Right now the arcade is closed, so characters are free to leave their games." He paused, seeming to remember something. "But when it opens, you'd better be in your game! If the players see you're gone, they'll think the game is broken and, well, you'll be unplugged for sure."

Turbo blinked at this information, and the twins gazed at Felix worriedly. "What happens if we're unplugged?" Ted questioned, causing Felix's smile to falter.

"Well...everything will disappear, and if you're still inside, so will you," He replied, but he shook the sadness from his voice and his smile returned fully. "But, you shouldn't have to worry about that! As long as you're in the game when the arcade opens, everything'll be fine!"

Turbo studied Felix's face and tilted his head slightly. "How do you know what happens when a game is unplugged?" He asked, and Felix's gaze turned to him.

"It's happened before, but," He shook his head, tapping on the hammer on his toolbelt absentmindedly, "There's no need to get so down about it now! It's nothing you'll have to worry about. Whaddya say I show you guys around the station? I can explain more as we walk."

Turbo and the twins glanced at each other, still processing the information they had received. As Felix sensed their uncertainty, he clasped his hands together in front of himself. "I know it's a lot to spring on you guys, but I surely wouldn't want you guys getting unplugged because someone didn't tell you," He explained.

Turbo nodded in understanding. "Thanks, we appreciate it. We're still a bit confused on how this all works."

Felix gave Turbo his usual warm smile, gesturing behind himself as he began to walk. "Well, let's get going then!"

Luckily for Turbo and the twins, Felix didn't seem to mind answering their onslaught of questions. In the midst of this, they were also shown the other games that were plugged in, such as Felix's own game, Tapper, Burger Time, and Pac-Man. By the time their tour had ended, all three racers seemed to feel a bit more sure-footed as to where they were now living.

Felix had explained the concept of visiting other games, and to be wary of dying in another game, for if they did, they wouldn't be able to regenerate. He also informed them of who Litwak was, as well as the schedule the arcade seemed to run on. It opened at 9:30 am every morning, not counting Saturdays and Sundays, in which then it would open at 10:00 am. In retrospect to closing, during the week it closed at 8:30 pm and, on Saturdays and Sundays, it closed at 6:00 pm. On holidays, it wouldn't be open at all, and Felix assured them that he would let them know when those holidays were when the time came.

"Today, May 1st, is a Saturday, so the arcade closed earlier than normal. That gives you a little more time to get acquainted with everything." Felix added in conclusion.

As Felix and the TurboTime brothers parted ways after saying their goodbyes, Turbo turned to look at the entrance of their game's plug. "Well, Felix said it was getting late, so, maybe we should head back and rest." He suggested, glancing to the twins.

Ted and Ned nodded in agreement, with Ted standing a little bit in front Ned. Before Turbo could walk off, Ted cleared his throat to get the shorter racer's attention. "Turbo? Ned and I wanted to ask you something."

Turbo's brow raised as he turned his head to look at them. "What?"

Ted and Ned looked at each other for a moment before only Ted returned his gaze to Turbo's. Turbo's eyes narrowed slightly as Ned didn't look at him, and before Ted could say anything, Turbo cut in. "Did I do something wrong? Why won't he look at me?"

Ned flinched at this, and Ted inched himself a little so he was standing more in front of his twin. "No, you didn't do anything wrong," He replied, putting his hands up in a placating gesture.

Turbo grew increasingly confused, equating to slight annoyance. "What is it?"

"Ned and I just wanted to ask your opinion on something." Ted explained, though before he could say anything else, Turbo's annoyance got the better of him and he cut Ted off.

"Why is Ned not looking at me?" He demanded to know, taking a step towards them. "I thought everything that happened earlier was resolved. I said sorry, didn't I?!"

Ted's eyes widened and he quickly grew defensive. "Turbo, back off. This has nothing to do with that." He retorted, glancing around to see if Turbo's risen voice had drawn any attention. To their luck, it didn't, as the station seemed to be clearing out for the night. Returning his gaze to Turbo, he tried to explain again. "Ned and I were just wondering your thoughts on something that Felix mentioned."

"Well, spit it out." Turbo hissed, his patience thinning.

At this, Ted's eyes narrowed slightly. "What's your problem?" He snapped, causing Ned's own eyes to widen. This wasn't where this conversation was supposed to go at all…! "You get so defensive over everything and barely give Ned or I a chance to explain ourselves!"

Turbo's gaze flashed with anger at the accusations being thrown at him. Though, before he could argue back, Ted held his ground and kept speaking. "Why can't you just react normally? I wasn't even being hostile!"

"Well, I'm sorry that I got confused because Ned was hiding behind you like I was going to kick him! Why is he doing that?!" Turbo lashed out, his voice laced with sarcasm and increasing annoyance.

"If you'd let me explain then you'd know why! So just shut up and listen!"

Ned cringed, his wide eyed and fearful gaze flicking between his brothers. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause this—"

"Ned, don't apologize." Ted broke in, holding his hand out as if to stop him, his glare still centered on Turbo. "Just listen. Ned and I were wondering what you thought about what Felix said regarding being unplugged. It's been bothering Ned ever since Felix said it, and he wanted to ask you if you thought it was going to be okay. But, he's scared to, he doesn't know why, but he is. Happy?"

"What—does he think I'm going to make some snarky comment and blow it off?" Turbo retorted, seeming offended. Ned flinched, quickly turning to look away.

"I don't know—we both don't know. We just wanted you to take it gently and give us your opinion."

"You thought I wasn't going to take it gently?" Turbo laughed with an edge to his voice, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So—one fight happens and I'm immediately heartless!"

"Turbo, stop it! You know that's not what we're saying." Ted responded, his own voice laced with shards of anger. "You take everything so literally! Just relax—we only wanted to know what you thought."

"Fine, you know what I think?" Turbo began, a smile creeping onto his features as he took several steps towards them. Ned's eyes widened like saucers and he hid behind Ted, who took his own steps back. "I think that you're being an idiot. It's like you think we're going to get unplugged and be homeless for the rest of our lives! You're such a child—why would we even get unplugged in the first place?!"

The pit in Ned's stomach only grew as his fears slowly became a reality. "I-I didn't want you to get mad…! I just wasn't sure if I should ask because—"

"What? Because what? Are you scared of me or something?!"

"Turbo—stop! You're the one acting like an idiot! What the heck is your problem?!" Ted broke in, now not caring if people heard them or not. "I don't get it—we didn't even do anything wrong! It's like you're programmed to hate us!"

"Oh, believe me, I wouldn't need programming to hate the two of you." Turbo snarled out.

Ted's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "Turbo, what the heck?! We didn't even do anything!" He exclaimed in exasperation. "You're literally getting mad for no reason!"

Turbo's gaze flicked between the two of them, his mind buzzing. Why WAS he getting mad? His lack of understanding on this only angered him further. "I don't know—maybe if you two weren't such nuisances I wouldn't get upset!"

Ted was beyond confused. Turbo was literally spewing nonsense at this point. Taking a moment to think, Ted tried to calm himself down, gazing back at Ned. The other twin's eyes were shut tightly, his shoulders shaking with each quick breath he took. Returning his sight to Turbo, Ted tried to loosen up. "Turbo, I don't know what's wrong with you, but you need to calm down."

"Oh—sure, I need to calm down. I'm not the one who was too scared to ask a simple question." Turbo stated in a jab at Ned.

Any anger that had dissipated from Ted began to return. "Don't talk about him like that—it's not his fault you freak out over nothing. I'd be scared to ask you anything too." He retorted, managing to keep his voice low.

"So you ARE scared to ask me questions." Turbo observed, his narrowed eyes flicking from Ted to Ned. They glowed with frustration; he was more mad at himself than the twins by now. He couldn't understand why he was doing this. Something in his code told him to hate these two, to argue and fight with them like they didn't matter an ounce to him. His apology earlier that day had to be forced out of his throat, and he didn't know why. It's not like he wanted to hate them, but the involuntary will to do so screamed at him as much as his will to race.

As these thoughts slithered through his head, Turbo began to grow increasingly distressed. This distress evolved into frustration, then to anger. He almost wanted to hit Ted, who of which was now protectively guarding the other twin with a blaze in his eyes.

Debating whether he would lash out or not, Turbo's gaze flicked around the station. By now, it was nearly empty, and the only characters that were left were far down the strip. Turbo's first thought was that they wouldn't hear if a fight were to break out, but he tried to shake it. He didn't want to fight with Ted, it would only worsen any good relations Turbo still had with him.

Ted's posture hadn't relaxed, and he watched with a calculated gaze as Turbo seemed to be looking around the station. "Turbo," He spoke up, his voice low. Turbo's head snapped in his direction, their eyes meeting. "Listen, we can forget this happened. I don't know why you got upset, but I just want to take Ned home."

Turbo's facial features shifted slightly, as if he were thinking. Ted didn't allow his glare to waver in case he needed to act quickly. Something told him in his mind that Turbo might lash out; something in his code whispered to him that he should be ready for it. To his relief, Turbo took a step back. Ted blinked as he noticed a hint of defeat in the shorter racer's eyes, but otherwise didn't say anything as Turbo whipped around and headed into the plug.


	3. Chapter 3 - Problems Have One Solution

Chapter 3 - Some Problems Seem to Only Have One Solution

* * *

Silence reigned before Ted remembered that Ned was nearly having a panic attack behind him. The twin quickly turned to face his brother, taking hold of both of Ned's shoulders to get his attention. "Ned—deep breaths. It's okay, Turbo didn't mean any of that—..." He started, his statement wavering off as Ned's shoulders shuddered underneath his grip. With widening eyes, Ted gently shook Ned to get him to look up. Though, as he saw Ned's face, panic entered his gaze. "Don't freak out—don't freak out, it's okay, just breathe."

Ned's expression spoke a thousand words. Evident terror was in his eyes, tears solidifying this fact. His ragged and rapid breathing hinted at the imminent onslaught of a panic attack, and Ted could tell he was getting too warm. "T-Turbo hates us…" He finally managed to say, his voice broken at the lump in his throat. It was as if he came to a greater realization of this upon saying it outloud, which prompted his breaths to quicken. Nausea gripped him and a wave of heat crawled up his spine.

Ted quickly shook his head, looking downwards to gather his thoughts. Gazing back up to Ned, he tried to convey a seriousness in his eyes, but also comfort. "He doesn't hate us, I'm sure he didn't mean any of it, he was just getting upset at himself." He assumed, since he couldn't think of any other reason why Turbo would be as livid as he had been. As he felt Ned begin to overheat, he reached up and pulled the helmet from his twin's head. After placing it down on the floor beside him, Ted returned to his full height to face Ned once more.

Ned slowly turned away, closing his eyes as he grit his teeth. "I-It's my fault!" He rasped out, prompting Ted to shake his head again. He realized Ned couldn't see it, so he decided to add on to this response.

"No, it's not your fault, it's not bad that you wanted to ask Turbo his opinion." He paused, thinking. "If anything, it's Turbo's own fault for reacting how he did."

"Why...w-why did he do that?" Ned whimpered, opening his eyes and keeping his gaze off of Ted.

"I'm not sure, I think it's just his personality," Ted murmured, trying to piece things together as quickly as he could. He assumed he would have to ask Turbo when they got back, but knew he would have to wait a while so Turbo could cool off. He didn't want to believe that the sense of hatred Turbo felt was ingrained into his code, but he had a sinking feeling that this was the case.

Ned seemed to pick up on this and he finally choked out a sob, evoking panic into Ted's chest as his brother crumpled forward, his body tensing up. "Woah—Ned, shh..it's okay…!" He stammered out all at once, gripping Ned's shoulders tighter and leaning down so he was level with Ned's head. He attempted to get his brother to look him in the eye, but Ned refused and only stared down at the floor.

Ted frowned further and tried shaking Ned a little again to get his twin's attention back, but this was to no avail as Ned shrank back further, his shoulders bunching up as he sobbed again. "Hey, hey, look at me…!" Ted pressed, his brow furrowing as this only seemed to worsen Ned's state; Ned's quiet cries grew closer together, louder, and more ragged, and Ted desperately wished he knew what was going through his brother's head. "Ned, look at me." He prompted again, trying to make his voice serious enough that Ned would listen.

As Ned's teary eyed gaze flicked up to meet Ted's, Ted pulled him close and surrounded him in a hug. "Relax...it's okay, Turbo didn't mean it…" He murmured, feeling Ned bury into his neck and shake with another sob. "I know he didn't mean it," He assured with a little more confidence, though, a glimmer of doubt flashed through him. Was he just lying through his teeth?

After a moment, Ned wrapped his arms around Ted's back, gripping him tightly as if he feared Ted would leave. "T-Turbo hates us…! And th-there's nothing we c-can do…!" He cried, drawing in several quick breaths before speaking again. "W-We didn't even do anything w-wrong…!"

"I know—I know, I'm going to talk to Turbo about it when we get back," Ted responded, tightening his own hold on Ned in an effort to get his twin to relax. It didn't seem to take effect at first because Ned stiffened, his fingers digging into Ted's clothes. "We're not going to get unplugged. Even if we did, I wouldn't leave you...and neither would Turbo." He added on the last part with a moment of thought.

It was soon silent, other than Ned's rasping breaths. But, Ted wasn't prepared for Ned to suddenly jerk back with a terrored gasp, now taking quick steps back. Ted's head wheeled behind him to see what Ned had been spooked by, blinking wide eyes as Turbo had returned.

Turbo had planned on ditching them and heading home, but he was drawn back upon hearing the beginnings of their conversation. Something in his chest had begun to hurt as he listened, though he kept himself out of sight, leaning against the wall that was past the entrance to the plug. After it had gone quiet, however, he decided to come back, unsure about what drove him to do so.

Ted's first instinct was to snap at Turbo and tell him to leave, afraid that Turbo would only upset Ned further. And, much to his dismay, Turbo returned the glare that Ted now possessed, his arms crossed in front of himself. Before Ted could say much of anything, Turbo jumped into the conversation. "Are you so sure about that?" He questioned darkly.

It took Ted a moment to realize what Turbo was talking about; he must have been referring to when Ted had assured Ned that Turbo wouldn't leave them. 'Is he serious?!' Ted thought, his eyes narrowing. "You're not helping." He responded, deciding to not take anything Turbo was going to say seriously.

"I wasn't trying to help, idiot." Turbo growled back, feeling something sore in his chest as he said it.

Ted drew in a small breath, gazing upwards and counting slowly in his head. "Turbo," He began, giving a side glance towards Ned to make sure his brother was alright. Ned was only watching them with wide eyes, looking as though he was barely breathing at all. Hoping the ensuing confrontation wouldn't set Ned off further, Ted returned his vision to Turbo. "Why did you bother coming back? Are you here to just fight again?"

Turbo's expression grew colder, his gaze shifting between the twins. "I just wanted to know something." He started icily, prompting Ted's further concern at the tone of his voice. "Do you two really think I care about you enough to not leave if I wanted?"

Ted's sight flicked to Ned for a moment before it returned to Turbo. "Why would you even want to ditch us?!" He challenged, his previous confusion returning. "We haven't even done anything to you except beat you in one race, which, mind you, wasn't really a race at all! Why did you bother apologizing earlier if you were just going to lash out again?"

"It's not like I planned on it! How was I supposed to know you two were going to be the biggest pains in my ass when we haven't even been plugged in ONE day?" Turbo retorted, causing Ted's thoughts to race with his growing confusion and will to understand what the heck Turbo was going on about.

"You're just—" Ted could barely get his words out, "You are literally making NO sense!"

"Oh, sure, I'M the one not making sense." Turbo muttered, leading Ted to gaze at him with an expression of utter perplexity and frustration.

"You know what? Fine—fine, you can just stand here and make no sense whatsoever. I'm taking Ned home." Ted snapped back, grabbing at Ned's hand and picking up Ned's helmet from the floor before dragging his twin towards the entrance of the plug.

Turbo took a step back as Ted shoved past him, his eyes narrowing at this. He opened his mouth to argue, but ultimately decided against it and instead lunged forward, grasping Ned's remaining hand and pulling him in the opposite direction. Ned let out a gasp in his throat as he was suddenly jerked backwards, stumbling a little as his hand was ripped from Ted's.

Ted jolted, his head whipping around to face what was happening behind him. He blinked as he took in the scenario, his gaze flicking between the two racers before him. "Turbo, what are you doing?" He growled out, turning and heading towards them.

Turbo had to process what he was doing as well. He quickly thought up something in his head and blurted it out. "I want to talk to him."

Ted almost laughed at this. "You're insane if you think I'm letting you take him anywhere."

Ned's gaze stared between them, and he gently tried to take his hand from Turbo's without panicking. "I-I just want to go home.."

Turbo narrowed his eyes, trying to argue with the burning will inside his conscience. He drew in a slow breath, weighing what he was doing with growing distress. What WAS he doing? Nothing made sense anymore. He didn't even have anything to fight about, and yet his code told him to do it anyway. This prompted his frustration to drag him down further and he quickly shoved Ned away, bolting in the opposite direction.

Ted's eyes widened and he steadied Ned to keep him from falling, his gaze following Turbo's form as it headed into one of the games that Felix told them about earlier. Not taking the time to inspect what game it was, Ted turned back to Ned and looked him over. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Ned breathed out shakily, edging back from Ted and beginning to walk towards the plug. "L-Let's just go home…"

Ted's arms slowly fell from where they had been raised, his brows furrowing as Ned didn't even give him a glance. "Oh—uh, okay...yeah." He replied, gazing down at Ned's helmet that was still in his hand. Gripping it a little tighter, he began to follow.

The twins made their way to the monorail and got on, Ned's head dipped as the train began to travel into their game. Ted had his arm around his brother's shoulders, and he was growing more concerned as the seconds passed due to Ned's silence. He debated asking questions or saying something, but never had the chance to think of anything that would be beneficial. As their means of transportation arrived, both twins got off and headed towards their home in silence.

Upon finally reaching their room, Ted closed the door behind him and turned to face Ned, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed. "Ned, I…" He slowly trailed off, trying to decide what he should say. He wanted to be upset at Turbo, he wanted to be mad and vent his frustration, but he knew that it wouldn't make Ned feel any better.

"There's...something w-wrong with Turbo," Ned spoke up, his gaze centered on the floor. "I...I don't think that he knows what he's doing…"

Ted sighed out through his nose, stepping over to Ned and sitting beside him. He took his own helmet off now, placing it on the floor next to Ned's before he sat back up. "I don't think he knows what he's doing either," He began, trying to piece things together. "He doesn't seem to have a motive other than just arguing with us."

"Is it because we're NPC's…?" Ned questioned quietly, and Ted found himself confused at the lack of emotion Ned was now conveying. He half expected Ned to be freaking out like he'd been doing before, and couldn't figure out what was different now.

"I...uh, I don't know. Maybe…" He murmured, gazing down at the floor as well. In his mind, Turbo couldn't be allowed to have the liberty of flipping out whenever he wanted. If this was what Turbo was doing on just the FIRST day, then what should they expect for all the years they could be plugged in? Ted definitely wasn't about to deal with this for that long.

After all, Turbo's anger had been prompted by something so small that Ted couldn't imagine what would happen when a real problem showed up. If Turbo got mad enough at him and Ned, then he could very well ditch them like he had been implying. But, it didn't seem fair to Ted that Turbo had the excuse of just being 'programmed that way'.

Ted closed his eyes as he tried to think harder. Turbo had apologized earlier. He was trying. But Ted knew something was off about it. Turbo looked like he'd been forcing it, like every bit of him told him not to do it. Assuming this was true, Ted decided that it WAS Turbo's programming causing all these problems. It kind of made sense that Turbo would be against them, since he and Ned were technically the villains of their game.

But this led back to the problem of what would happen tomorrow, or the next day, or all of the days after that. It was only day one and things were quickly going to hell. Turbo had gotten very upset over something very small, something that shouldn't have even been a problem in the first place. Ned not looking at him shouldn't have been a trigger point.

Ted blinked open his eyes as he thought of something. Did Turbo have a bigger conscience than he thought? Turbo must have still felt guilty about the fight that had occurred before he apologized, because when Ned had refused to look at him, Turbo immediately assumed it was due to the argument. It set something off in his head, a warning flag, a flag that told him he was still in the wrong. That the twins were still mad at him. That he was still on bad terms. That he wouldn't ever be able to escape his first mistake. That he hurt Ned and couldn't ever fix it.

Pursing his lips, Ted gave Ned a side glance. Ned was also gazing downwards, seeming in deep as thought as Ted had just been in. In light of this, a sense of protectiveness washed over Ted. He debated speaking up, but ultimately decided to let the silence reign in case Ned was trying to think of a solution to all of this. That's what Ted was going to start doing, anyways.

How could he stop this...they couldn't just let Turbo act like this all the time. It was going to become a big problem very quickly. But, it's not like they could just change Turbo's code and make him nicer. Or…

"Woah." Ted spoke up, his head lifting. Ned gazed at him in questioning, and Ted quickly got up, beginning to pace.

"What…?"

"I think Turbo's programmed to hate us. We're technically the villains to him, after all; we're his competition." Ted explained, holding a hand up to his mouth in contemplation. "But, if we change his programming, then he won't be like that anymore, right?"

Ned's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?!" He exclaimed, watching Ted with wide eyes. "We have no idea how code works, or even where the code IS!"

Ted's brows furrowed. "We can change him. I know we can, then he won't get mad over nothing anymore."

"Are you even listening to me…?" Ned breathed, standing up to stop Ted's pacing by grabbing his shoulder. "We can't change Turbo's code, what if we mess something up?" He tried to reason, and Ted nudged his brother's hand from his shoulder.

"If he doesn't change then this is going to happen every day. Every single day, he's going to flip out over something that probably doesn't make sense." Ted debated saying what he was about to say, but it came out anyway. "If he gets mad enough at us then he could leave the game altogether."

Ned's wide eyed gaze flicked over Ted's face. "He—he wouldn't leave, he's not going to fight with us...he's just, we..." His denials trailed off, but he forced himself to speak again. "We could...we could seriously mess Turbo up if we tried to alter his code."

Ted was silent for a few more moments, prompting Ned's further concern. He knew that look. "Ted—no, please no…! You could really hurt him…!" He practically begged, his voice shaking. "What if he gets messed up and—and the players come to play the game and he's broken and can't do anything…! A-and then they'll think our game is broken and we'll get—"

"Unplugged, I know…" Ted muttered, turning away, his hand still up to his mouth in contemplation. "But…"

"No—please Ted…!" Ned broke in, stepping over so he was in front of the twin again, his pleading gaze boring into Ted's perplexed one. "I can deal with him being mean, I'm sorry—I shouldn't have overreacted, I can deal with it I swear…!"

 _'I can't.'_ Ted thought, wishing desperately to say so. But, as he looked into Ned's eyes, he found himself faltering. He opened his mouth slightly, closed it, and looked to the floor. "...fine. I'll leave him alone." He stated begrudgingly. Though, before Ned could say anything to that, he spoke up again. "What do you expect us to do instead?"

Ned paused as if he hadn't quite thought it through. Considering that Ted had interrupted his thoughts with that crazy idea, it made sense that he wasn't sure what to say. "I-I don't know...we can talk to him...and see if he's okay.."

"Do you really think Turbo's just going to let us talk to him?" Ted retorted, a little more harshly than he would have wanted. He realized this as Ned stiffened, but before he could apologize, Ned responded.

"He tried to talk to us earlier...when he apologized, remember…?"

"Yes, I know, I thought about that." Ted replied, a bit more gently this time. "But even after that, he still flipped out for literally no reason. I'm pretty sure that it's just ingrained into his code. If we could just—"

"Ted, please don't…"

Ted sighed out through his nose, his gaze flicking to the door before it turned towards the bed. "Fine, fine, I won't."

"Promise…?" Ned breathed, leaning so he was making eye contact with Ted again.

Ted inwardly flinched. Ned's question stung for a reason that he knew, but didn't want to say. He drew in a slow breath, looked Ned in the eyes, and nodded. "I promise."

* * *

 _Sorry for the lack of author's note last chapter! I was having a rough time and just wanted to get the chapter out, but I think I'm okay now!_

 _Thanks for reading this far, and I hope you enjoy what's to come in the future! :D_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	4. Chapter 4 - 0 to 100 in 35 Seconds

Chapter 4 - 0 to 100 in 3.5 Seconds

* * *

At Ted's promise, Ned visibly relaxed, his shoulders untensing and his head dipping. "Thank you…" He rasped, immediately informing Ted of his exhaustion.

"Yeah—c'mon, we should probably try and get some sleep." Ted suggested, gently leading Ned back to the bed. Once he finally managed to get Ned to lay down, he sat down on the edge of the bed himself, still thinking. And, as if reading his thoughts, Ned spoke up.

"What do we do about Turbo…?"

Ted sighed out through his nose once more, closing his eyes. "I don't know where he went, I wasn't really paying attention. But...I'm sure he'll be fine." He tried to assure, reopening his eyes to gaze at Ned. "Just relax, I'll chill here until you get to sleep."

Ned hesitated. "Can you lay down too…?"

"Yeah, sure." Ted replied, doing so as Ned turned over. The two of them now were facing away from each other, their backs barely touching. Ned curled up a bit, and Ted lifted his head, glancing at his brother in his peripheral vision before resting back down. His gaze now focused on the expanse of the room, as Ned was facing the wall in the opposite direction.

It was strange, sleeping. After all, it was always daytime; the game didn't have a day/night cycle. It didn't seem to bother Ned, though, who had ultimately fallen fully asleep within the few minutes of silence that reigned.

Ted swallowed, not finding sleep coming as easily to him. How could he? All he could think about was what to do about Turbo. He knew what he wanted to do, and inwardly tried to convince himself against it. But, as the minutes ticked on, Ted grew more restless, and unable to take it anymore, he slowly, gently, carefully, sat up. His gaze flicked to Ned every few seconds, who didn't seem to stir despite the movements that his brother was making. "I'm sorry…" He breathed, easing himself off of the bed and heading towards the door.

After successfully managing to leave the room, Ted leaned back against the now closed door with ragged breaths. He didn't imagine trying to sneak out of a room would be so scary or adrenaline inducing. Maybe it wasn't getting out of the room that was making him anxious, though. Lifting himself to full height again, Ted's head turned to look down the hall, then to the steps.

Deciding to head downstairs, Ted began to make his way to the lower floor before his conscience could argue with him. As he arrived, his vision surveyed the living room. He hadn't taken a lot of a time to look at it before, but he wasn't here to sightsee. No, he was looking for something.

It was now that he began his search. He knew, for a reason that he couldn't explain, there was a room for the game's code. It had to be somewhere in the house, or, outside. Those were the only places it could be. After searching the house for an unbearable amount of time, Ted finally gave up on the prospect of it being inside and went outside instead.

As Ted searched and searched, his frustration began to get the better of him, and his gaze looked to the house every few seconds as if he feared Ned would be standing there. 'Why do I feel so horrible for doing this?! It'll just keep Turbo from being an ass, stop being such an idiot!' He mentally berated himself, pausing as he was now behind the podium that he and his brothers stood upon when a race was won.

It seemed like a normal podium to him; the back of it was a simple black color and textureless. But, as he reached forward and brushed it with his hand, he felt the edge of a handle. Blinking, Ted quickly grabbed it and pulled, surprised to find a doorway opening. Taking a small step back, Ted gawked at it before mentally cursing himself at just standing there. He hastily slipped inside, shutting the door behind him to make sure no one would follow.

At the entrance of the doorway, there was a set of steps. They were silver, like the rest of the hallway, but the walls were lined with wires, pulsating a lighter blue in color. It filled Ted with a sense of discomfort; it felt as if he was entering something that was actually alive. Trying to ignore this feeling, Ted slowly made his way down the steps, gazing left and right to survey his surroundings. Upon reaching the bottom, he found himself a few steps away from a door with a strange keypad on it.

Gazing down at the keypad with narrowed eyes, Ted bit his lip as he realized this was a roadblock. Why would there be a password on this thing? It was HIS game!

Crossing his arms, Ted tried to think of what the password could be. It looked like a game controller...wait, how did he know that? Upon looking at the controller again, it was as if it suddenly hit his mind like a freight train. Leaning a little, Ted pressed the keypad and its buttons in a pattern that seemed natural to him, muttering the words as he did so. And, to his surprise, the door made a small beeping noise and slid open.

What he saw wasn't exactly what he was expecting. It was a pitch black room, with code boxes scattered throughout that were all blinking in their own ways and making their own small sounds. His gaze flicking between the boxes, Ted reached his hand out into the darkness. He blinked as it felt as if his arm were floating, and he quickly jerked it back to his chest, holding it with his other hand. "What the…"

Reaching a bit more and holding onto the edge of the door with one hand, Ted leaned out so most of himself was in the pitch black. A lightheaded feeling struck him and he, as quickly as he could without passing out, stumbled back onto the floor of the hallway.

Another roadblock.

Great.

He was just going to float out there if he didn't have anything to bring himself back. Sighing out through his nose to calm himself, Ted took a look at his surroundings again. There had to be something...the room couldn't just be inaccessible. Luckily, he noticed a smaller looking door near the larger one, and it was ingrained into the side of the wall, nearly hidden by the pulsating wires. Reaching for the handle, Ted tugged it open with a bit of force and found himself relaxing at what he saw.

There was a rope of sorts, black in color and thick enough to hold the weight of someone. Ted grabbed it and quickly tied it around one of the wires before tying it around himself in turn, tugging on the rope to make sure he and the wire were connected. After deeming it safe, Ted turned back to the darkness with widened eyes. Here goes nothing…

He stepped out slowly at first, but yelped as he slipped a bit and was fully succumbed to the feeling of weightlessness. Breathing out heavily and rapidly through his nose, Ted tried to get himself to calm down as he reminded himself he needed to hurry. After taking just a few more moments to adjust, he finally managed to get going and gradually got used to moving. It was strange, being able to float and move at the same time. The lightheaded feeling returned, but he now ignored it as he headed up to the first of the code boxes.

Ted soon found himself realizing that the smaller boxes were more insignificant things, while the larger ones were more prominent. So, in light of this, he began to search for what he assumed would be the largest of them. Turbo was the most important character in the game, despite what Ted wanted to think, so it didn't take long for the twin to locate the code he needed to.

To Ted's luck, the code boxes had names on them, so he had no doubt that the box he was in front of was Turbo's. Something in him hurt as he read it, though. Nonetheless, Ted slowly reached forward and tapped on the box. Though he jolted a bit as it opened, revealing many different symbols that he didn't understand.

However, there were smaller boxes inside with names on them, so Ted inspected them to see if any of them were what he was looking for. Anything to do with Turbo's emotions, characteristics, or personality would be just what Ted was searching for. As he gazed at the boxes, he blinked as he noticed one that read 'Attributes'. Well...close enough.

Tapping on the box, Ted's eyes widened as it opened and revealed a small amount of glitching words laced with numbers and symbols. "What the heck…?!" He exclaimed in a whisper, barely able to make out what the words were supposed to be. On a split second thought, he reached forward and tried touching one, but he yelped as it, one, caused a burning feeling to sear up his fingers and, two, caused the word to disappear altogether. "Crap…!" He breathed, his disbelieving gaze flicking over the remaining words.

He'd better not have just messed up.

Shaking this, Ted tried to make out what the other words were. He could just barely understand what they were trying to say, with some of them reading various emotions and others reading physical characteristics. They were rather vague, though, prompting frustration in the twin. "They couldn't just put his hatred for us in here...?!" He hissed, debating reaching for another one. If he could just find the right one and get rid of it…

As a wave of nausea and further lightheadedness washed over Ted, he closed his eyes and drew in a small breath to steady his increasing heart-rate. "Calm down—calm down…" He told himself, reopening his eyes to gaze at the code boxes before him. "If I can just find one that has to do with Ned and me, then it'll be fine..."

The seconds ticked on with fruitless searching, and Ted's growing anxiety and frustration were beginning to bother him as much as his feeling of disorientation. Hazilly shaking his head as his vision was now refusing to cooperate, Ted drew away from the codes, his arms waving slightly as he tried to keep his balance. This gesture caused his motion sickness to worsen, and he felt his throat grow hollow as his body threatened to make him sick. Now quickly determining that he had to leave, Ted took one last look at the code he had tampered with before making his way towards the exit.

Upon stumbling into the gravity induced hallway, Ted fell onto his hands and knees, his breathing ragged as his body grew used to the feeling of having weight once again. After managing to compose himself with a few more labored breaths, Ted got to his feet, shakily untying his tether from both himself and the wire before shoving it back into the compartment it had come from. And, with one final glance to the code room, he allowed the door to shut and clambered up the steps.

As the door closed, the code boxes that had been opened due to Ted's influences proceeded to reset themselves into a closed state. All but one, that is. The code Ted unintentionally deleted now caused a missing link between the rest of the binary, and in a glitching flash of red light, the code scattered, striking against other boxes in its width. Small sparks emanated from the collisions, and the box that contained Turbo's attributes shattered. The carcass of the box flickered into nonexistence, allowing the awry code to escape.

While still confined in Turbo's general character box, the code began to do as it was intended: connect to other codes in the nearby vicinity. Small bits of red binary began to stick to other trait boxes that were within Turbo's character, their physical makeups glitching themselves into the individual boxes. They entered his emotions, his coordination, his ability to race, among others.

Flicking into the code that was already present, the original data shuddered and unwillingly accepted the fragmented binary. The outward appearance of the boxes cracked and shifted in color, their original, gentle flashing turning sporadic and shaky. Error symbols flashed, trying to warn anyone that was nearby that something desperately needed to be fixed.

Of course, the only person who could have seen it wasn't there anymore.


	5. Chapter 5 - Less Uncomfortable

Chapter 5 - This Could Have Been Less Uncomfortable

* * *

Ted was now long gone, trying to get into the house as quietly as he could. He snuck up the stairs, stopping in front of his and Ned's door. He found himself faltering, hesitating, his hand stopping as it reached for the handle. His brows furrowed, and he felt a pit in his stomach. He had already thought up an excuse for his absence, praying desperately that it would work. Forcing himself to open the door, Ted stepped into the room and saw what he was expecting.

Ned looked up from where he was sitting criss-crossed on the mattress, his body tense. "Where were you…" He breathed, looking defeated.

"I was just looking for Turbo," Ted replied, finding his voice surprisingly calm. "I thought that maybe he came back, so I was looking around the game for him. I checked in the garage, in his room, even under the bleachers, but I couldn't find him."

Anxiety met Ted again at the ensuing silence, but he found himself relaxing as Ned slowly nodded. "Oh...okay...does that mean he's still out in Game Central Station?"

"Probably," Ted assumed, his brows furrowing in thought. "I hope he comes back soon though, I'm not sure when the arcade opens."

"Should we go look for him…?" Ned suggested, prompting Ted to nod.

"It would probably be good to do that. Even if he is still mad at us, he needs to come back." Ted replied, heading over to the end of the bed to get their helmets. Handing Ned his and putting on his own, Ted gestured towards the door to allow Ned to leave first. And, at that, the twins exited the room and began to head outside.

Of course, even when they arrived in Game Central Station, they had no idea where to look. Unbeknownst to them, Turbo had fled into Tapper's, not really meaning to in the first place. He knew that Felix mentioned it was where game characters hung out during the arcade's down time, but he didn't know much more than that.

As he had stepped inside, Turbo gazed at the expanse before him. There was a line of bars and barstools spanning the game, with a bar directly near the entrance. Behind it, cleaning a glass with a rag, was who Turbo had assumed was the main character of the game. As Turbo neared, the man looked up, giving him a smile. "Well, you must be that new character from the game I've heard people talking about!"

"Uh, yeah, I am." Turbo had replied shortly, still trying to calm down from his confrontation with the twins.

"I'm assuming you're Turbo?" The man had continued, and Turbo had nodded in response. "Well, nice to meet you Turbo! The name's Tapper, I cater to arcade characters who want to wind down after a day of gameplay."

Glancing behind Tapper, Turbo had raised an eyebrow. "Is it actual beer?"

Tapper had chuckled a little, setting the glass he had been cleaning under the counter. "No, no, just root beer. But I've seen people drink a little too much sometimes, makes them loopy."

"Huh…" Turbo had muttered, his brows furrowed in contemplation.

"Now why don't you come on over and take a seat, I'll set you up, on the house." Tapper had proposed, gesturing behind himself to the other side of the bar. Turbo had watched this motion before walking around the curve of the bar to the other side, gazing at the bar stools that were nearly as tall as he was. Frowning, he stepped up onto the lower step of the stool and, with some difficulty, managed to finally sit down.

Turbo had crossed his arms against the sleek exterior of the bar now, looking downwards. He gazed at his reflection on the smooth surface, his eyes narrowing in disgust before they flicked up upon Tapper's return. Tapper had set a glass filled to the brim in front of him, nudging it in the racer's direction. "Here you go, buddy."

"Thanks.." Turbo had muttered, glowering at the drink before him as Tapper turned away. He didn't really have much of an appetite, and as he had reached for the glass, a wave of nausea suddenly washed through him. Letting out a sharp breath through his mouth, Turbo drew back, feeling a headache make its way into his head.

Tapper caught this motion in his peripheral vision and rotated back in Turbo's direction. He blinked at Turbo's paling face, concern entering his eyes. "You alright?"

Turbo had breathed out a 'no', his vision swimming and causing a sensation of great disorientation. He gripped at the edge of the bar with whitened knuckles to keep from falling back, suddenly feeling like he was going to throw up. Tapper had sensed this in a slight panic and informed Turbo he'd be right back before rushing to go find some water.

In the present, Turbo had his head down on his arms, trying to focus on not getting sick. Tapper had eventually returned with some water, but Turbo denied it, not even wanting to move.

Now breathing in through his nose and out raggedly through his mouth, Turbo managed to lift himself a bit, his nausea coursing through his code. And, with this nausea, came an array of mismatched emotions he couldn't place.

First and foremost, Turbo felt a sense of self loathing. This sudden hate towards himself prompted the strange urge to cry, which he was now trying to force away; he definitely didn't need people to see that. He wouldn't even want the twins to see it, which was why he had bolted away in the first place.

For now, Tapper was leaving him be to attend to other customers, assuring Turbo that he'd come back to check up on him. The minutes ticked on, and Turbo felt his emotions beginning to lack any sense. Frustration gradually made its way into the mix, prompting Turbo's eyes to narrow in the direction of the wall. He had a sinking feeling that something was up.

The twins were currently traversing the expanse of Game Central Station, calling out Turbo's name in hopes that it would lure him out of wherever he'd gone. Many minutes of this passed with no luck, so the brothers decided to start asking around. There weren't very many characters out of their games at the moment, which further decreased the twins' chance of finding their lost brother.

"Ugh—where is he?!" Ted exclaimed after yet another character had no inkling of where Turbo was.

Ned winced a little, his arms drawn up in a nervous gesture. "Uhm...maybe he's in one of the games?"

"Yeah, but which one?!" Ted snapped back, glowering in the direction of the plugs that were across from them. He still had no idea when the arcade was due to open, so finding Turbo was now the greatest anxiety on his list; if they couldn't find Turbo before arcade opened, well, being unplugged was a real possibility.

Ned backed up a little, turning away from Ted to look at the plugs behind him. He read the titles that spanned across the screens located above the openings, trying to decide which one Turbo would have picked.

"Okay...alright," Ted breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose before glancing to Ned. "Let's split up, I'll do those games, you do these." He gestured towards the plugs Ned was facing. "Meet back here if you don't find him, and if you do, just go back to TurboTime."

Ned nodded, returning his gaze to the title of the nearest plug. He recognized the name from Felix's mentioning of it during their tour, and faintly remembered the handyman saying it was where game characters preferred to hang out during the arcade's sleeping hours. And, unknown to him, this game was in fact where Turbo had fled to.

As Ted jogged off to the other side of the station, Ned began to make his way into Tapper's with a sense of discomfort. He didn't like being away from Ted for too long, and the idea of possibly being stuck with Turbo made his skin crawl more. He somewhat hoped that Ted would find Turbo instead, but this didn't deter him from getting onto Tapper's monorail and heading into the game.

Turbo's body shuddered and he swallowed thickly, eyeing the water in front of him with dull eyes. His fists tightened slightly from where they were crossed within his arms, and he closed his eyes to keep his vision from spinning anymore than it was. Tapper had returned now, gazing at the water Turbo refused to take. "You should really try drinking, pal." He suggested.

Turbo swallowed again, opening his eyes and glaring at the water. "No, it'll just…" He paused to draw in a breath, "...make me sick."

Tapper let out a quiet laugh through his nose, nudging Turbo gently to get the racer to look at him. "I've dealt with a lot here, and I know it'll help."

Turbo's eyes narrowed before he let out a ragged sigh, reaching out to take the glass. He sat up a bit so he could look down at it, his stomach churning at the sight of it. But, as he felt bile rising up in his throat, Turbo lifted the glass and took a hesitant sip. The cold feeling slithered down his throat, which, for some reason, eased the sour taste he'd been experiencing.

Slowly relaxing, Turbo tried to drink more, though he paused as he caught sight of something in his peripheral. He jolted and nearly choked on what he was drinking, haphazardly setting the glass back down and staring at Ned, who'd just entered the game. The twin looked incredibly nervous at being somewhere new by himself, hugging his arms around his torso. It took a moment for him to notice Turbo too, and he seemed to stall at the sight of the shorter racer.

Tapper blinked as he had heard Turbo stifle out a choking sound, and he turned to see what Turbo was now gaping at. "Oh!" He began, smiling at Ned as the taller racer slowly, but surely, began to make his way over. "You're from Turbo's game, right?"

Ned's gaze flicked between Turbo and Tapper, and he kept his distance. "Uhm…"

"He is." Turbo muttered sharply, returning his glare to the glass.

Tapper, being the sensible man he was, sensed the tension between the two racers. Thinking for a moment, he finally spoke up. "Well," He started, gesturing to the seat next to Turbo. "Why don't you take a seat?"

Ned stared at Tapper as if the bartender had just suggested he jump off of a cliff. He quickly and subtly shook his head, taking a step back. "I—I'm just supposed to get Turbo and take him home.." He just about whispered, fearing that anything he said would suddenly set Turbo off.

Turbo's eyes narrowed, his head unmoving as his pupils flicked to look at Ned in the corner of his eye. Before he could say anything, Tapper interjected. "Your pal Turbo doesn't feel too great," He explained, looking to Turbo. "I don't think he should go anywhere yet."

"I feel fine." Turbo growled, lying through his teeth.

Ned's brows furrowed and he hugged himself a bit tighter. "Turbo...Ted wants you to come home…"

"I don't care what Ted wants." Turbo remarked snidely.

"He just wants...to make sure you're in our game when the arcade opens…" Ned breathed, gazing to Tapper as the man spoke up.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about there. The arcade doesn't open for a little while. I'll make sure you two get home on time." He assured, giving Ned a warm smile to try and quell the twin's nerves.

While this did nothing of the sort, Turbo turned fully to look at Ned. He regretted doing it as quickly as he did though, his vision beginning to waver. Swiftly reorienting himself, Turbo glared daggers at Ned. "Just go home. Get out of my sight, I don't need you bothering me again."

Ned gazed to the floor, unsure of what he should do. He could try and reason with Turbo, which seemed to be an unsafe option. He could go and get Ted, but he, for some reason, didn't want to put Ted and Turbo in the same room. He then considered going back and telling Ted he didn't find Turbo so Turbo could come back whenever he wanted. But, that felt wrong to him, too. He didn't want to lie to Ted about anything, because he knew Ted wouldn't lie to him either.

Tapper looked between them, once more gesturing to the stool next to Turbo as his gaze returned to Ned. "C'mon kid, it's alright."

As Ned shook his head again, Turbo scoffed and muttered something under his breath, turning back to the glass of water in front of him. Tapper caught some of it, his brows furrowing as he processed the statement. Sighing out, he gently nudged Turbo and whispered something to him.

Ned lifted his head at this, nervously rubbing one arm with a hand as Turbo glanced at him. The shorter racer looked increasingly pissed as Tapper continued to communicate with him, and he sighed as Tapper leaned away. "Fine. Stay if you want, I don't care." He growled out, looking back to his reflection on the surface of the bar.

Ned blinked, now wondering what in creation Tapper could have told Turbo to get him to agree. Tapper, for a third time, gestured towards the stool next to Turbo with a smile. The twin gave a wary glance to the exit of the game before slowly making his way over, getting up onto the stool with quite a bit less effort than Turbo had to use earlier.

Being in such close proximity to Turbo prompted chills up Ned's spine, and he refused to look in Turbo's direction at all. Turbo, in turn, refused to look at Ned too, his gaze focused on the condensation running down the side of the glass of water. Silence reigned, other than the chatter of other people in the bar, leaving Tapper to be the one to initiate conversation. "So, is there another racer in your game? Ted, I believe you called him?"

Turbo visibly tensed, his eyes narrowing. Ned nodded a little, trying to muster up enough courage to respond. "Y-Yeah...he's our brother, too…"

Tapper's eyebrows raised, his smile widening. "Oh, you're brothers! Well, that's quite an interesting fact I never would have guessed, you two look a bit different." He replied, pulling out a rag that was draped along his belt to begin cleaning a glass.

Turbo's gaze followed this, trying to ignore the thoughts that were running through his head. "Yeah." He muttered, giving a side glance to Ned. "Ted and Ned look the same because they're NPC's. I'm the main character so I obviously look different."

Tapper nodded, seeming interested. "How does your game work? It's a racing game, right?"

Turbo and Ned were silent before Turbo nodded. "I'm who the players control. Ted and Ned are my competition." Before he could think, he added on, "It's not that difficult to beat them, though."

Ned blinked, thinking the same thing Turbo was. They didn't really have any proof to back that up, considering they'd only been played once and Turbo had lost. But, Ned knew better than to say anything about it, so he stayed quiet.

Tapper opened his mouth to respond, but paused as his name was called from across the bar. "Coming!" He called back, glancing at the two racers. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."

Ned's gaze followed Tapper as the bartender left before it briefly centered on Turbo. "I—..."

"What."

"I-I'm sorry…"

Turbo blinked, feeling an anger in his chest. "Why are you apologizing."

Ned laced his hands together under the bar in distress, fearing once more that if he said anything wrong, Turbo would lash out. "I...I'm sorry I made you mad earlier…"

Turbo glowered icily at the glass in front of him. He wanted to apologize too, but he knew there was no way he could do it. Something was stopping him.

When Turbo didn't respond, Ned took this as an indicator to keep talking. "I...I think Ted's sorry too.."

Turbo chuckled darkly under his breath. "Yeah, sure. Why would he be."

Ned almost began to mention that Ted didn't want Turbo to be angry all the time, but had second thoughts as he remembered what Ted had wanted to do in light of that. "Well...he's your brother too." He finally said.

That answer didn't seem to sit well with Turbo. Ned blinked widening eyes as Turbo gave him a side glare and smiled a little. "I don't care if he's my brother or not." He started, feeling his chest hurt as he said the next words. "I wouldn't hesitate to beat the shit out of him next time he tries to start anything."

Ned shuddered a little, prompting Turbo to keep talking. "And if you thought I meant inside the game, you're sorely mistaken."

"B-But he wouldn't regenera—"

"I know, idiot." Turbo snapped, frustration boiling at his insides.

Ned stalled for a moment, turning to stare at the surface of the bar. "I-If he beat you then you wouldn't r-regenerate either…"

Turbo didn't really know what to say to that. He didn't expect Ned to say it, and briefly considered this as well.

Ned glanced to Turbo again, flinching as if it were unsafe when Turbo looked to him too. "Please don't fight…"

"What? Does it make you upset or something?" Turbo mocked, causing Ned to flinch again. "Stop being such a baby."

"I-I'm not a baby," Ned tried to argue, "I just don't want you guys to hate each other..."

"Maybe you should have thought about that—..." Turbo paused, struck with the previous feeling of nausea like a freight train. He shuddered suddenly and gagged, his hand going up to his mouth.

Ned's eyes widened in panic and he quickly reached out as if he was going to try and steady Turbo. "A-Are you okay?!" He gasped, previously unaware of Turbo's sickness. All Tapper had said was that Turbo didn't feel too good, but that could have meant many different things.

Turbo retched again and quickly shook his head in response. But, before Ned could try and help, Turbo bolted from the twin's side and disappeared down the nearby hall, nearly slamming into the wall as he turned the corner.

Ned flinched as the barstool hit the floor from how fast Turbo had left, his widened eyes flicking to it as he registered the noise. Looking up from it, he blinked as he realized several people were staring at him in questioning. Feeling his chest constrict and his face grow hot, Ned withdrew a little as he leaned down to pick up the stool.

Tapper had returned at the commotion, his worried gaze following Ned. "What happened?"

"Turbo was just talking a-and..." Ned trailed off, shakily setting the stool in its place and backing away from the bar. "I-I'll be right back…!"


	6. Chapter 6 - Consequences Affect Everyone

Chapter 6 - Consequences Affect Everyone Differently

* * *

Before Tapper could say much of anything, Ned had already left, now making his way down the hall that Turbo had disappeared behind. The twin blinked as, on the adjacent wall, there were two doors that were the male and female bathrooms. Hesitantly, Ned pushed open the door to the male bathroom, wincing at what he heard when he entered; listening to Turbo get sick was enough to make his own stomach tie up in knots.

Drawing his arms up nervously, Ned peered into the stall that Turbo was inhabiting. Every nerve in his body told him to get help, Ted coming to his mind first. 'I can't do this…!' He thought in a panic, his own hands going over his mouth.

Turbo hadn't seemed to register Ned's presence yet, retching roughly as he tried to expel what his stomach couldn't provide; he hadn't eaten anything yet, leaving his body confused and in pain.

Ned inched closer, removing his hands from in front of his mouth so he could speak. "Turbo, a-are you okay?" He stammered out. Turbo's head lifted slightly at Ned's voice, his shoulders rising and falling with each labored breath. Not having enough energy to give a snarky reply, he just shook his head, closing his eyes tightly as he could feel the threatening nausea returning.

Ned swallowed nervously, trying quickly to think of what to do. His code screamed at him to get Ted, surely he would know what was wrong. "I-I'm gonna go get Ted—"

"No!" Turbo rasped out, opening his eyes to gaze at Ned in his peripheral.

Ned blinked, now beginning to back up. "He'll know what to do…!" He tried to convince, flinching as Turbo gagged again. And, before Turbo could argue, Ned ran out of the bathroom and down the hall. Tapper looked up as he noticed the twin passing, but barely managed to get a word in as Ned exited through the entrance of the game.

Ted trudged out of Burgertime, his blood just about boiling. He was getting very tired of Turbo's lacking presence. Not because he missed the shorter racer, no, he was getting tired of the fact that if Turbo didn't return, their game would be unplugged for sure. At first, Ted doubted that Turbo would let it come to that, but as time ticked on, he was beginning to lose his faith in that too.

As he silently prayed that Ned was having better luck, Ted's head pricked as he heard his name being called. He blinked as he recognized the voice, and he quickly turned around in the direction the cry had come from. Spotting Ned heading towards him on the far side of the station, Ted began to run over, growing more concerned as he could now see the panic in his twin's expression.

Holding his hands out to keep the two of them from running into each other, Ted grabbed at Ned's upper arms to stop him, immediately leaning down a little so he could see Ned's face. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"T-Turbo, he's—"

"You found him?! Where?!"

"He's in Tapper's and he's really s-sick…!"

Ted's brows furrowed, confusion etching itself on his features. "What do you mean 'sick'?" He questioned with slight worry, causing Ned to grab his hand and begin pulling him towards the entrance of Tapper's.

Tapper himself had, upon Ned's fleeing, headed into the bathroom to check on Turbo. To his relief, Turbo was standing up, leaning against the side of the stall. But, to his unease, Turbo looked as though he was barely able to keep himself up in the first place.

"Turbo, you okay there?" He questioned, reaching forward a bit to steady Turbo as the racer attempted to stand without the stall's support. To his further concern, Turbo didn't reply right away, seeming dazed. But, after a few moments, he murmured something under his breath. "What was that?" Tapper tried to confirm.

"T-Ted, don't…" Turbo could barely get the sentence out. "...don't let him n-near me." The second half of his statement was a little panicked.

Tapper's brows furrowed in confusion as he led Turbo out of the bathroom. "Why not?"

"He—he did something...I know he did…" Turbo responded, managing to lift his gaze as the two turned the corner to go back to where the bars were.

Tapper opened his mouth to reply, but jumped as Turbo jolted back in a sudden rush of energy. The racer had taken notice of Ned leading Ted into the room, and he ripped himself from Tapper's hold, backing up. Any statement regarding beating Ted's ass had flown out the window now. Why did he feel so threatened by him?!

Ned's head pricked as he noticed Turbo, as did Ted's. Though, Ted's eyes narrowed as Turbo obviously didn't look ill to him. Pulling his hand from Ned's, Ted stepped towards Turbo, prompting Turbo to back up quicker. "Sick, huh?" Ted hissed, though he jolted as Tapper reached a hand out to stop him before standing fully in front of the twin.

"Take it easy, kid." Tapper warned, trying to be nice while also asserting a sense of force.

"Who are you?" Ted retorted, eye to eye with the bartender.

"Th-that's Tapper, Ted.." Ned spoke up, inching towards his brother and trying to pull him back.

Ted's gaze, which had flicked to Ned, now returned to Tapper before trailing towards Turbo. "Turbo, c'mon, we're going home."

Turbo quickly shook his head, a great sense of panic shuddering through his body. He didn't know why he felt he was in such danger, he had never been scared of Ted before, what was different now?

Ted's head tilted at the evident fear in Turbo's eyes, a brief thought meeting him. Maybe this was the code he touched…? Turbo wouldn't normally act like this, after all. Weighing this as a possible scenario, Ted allowed himself to untense and he took a step back. "Turbo, I'm not going to do anything to you."

Seeing that Ted wasn't going to be hostile, Tapper took a step back as well, now gazing to Turbo. "It'd probably be best if you get some rest back in your game," With a small laugh, he added on, "As much as I loved having you and your brother here."

Turbo didn't seem to hear either of them, his mind trying futilely to process things he couldn't understand. It felt like someone had taken his code and put it in a blender, rendering it almost useless at this point.

Of course, he wouldn't know this was just about the case.

Ned, seeing that Turbo was on the verge of something he'd rather not see, edged past Ted and Tapper to try and take hold of Turbo's hand. Turbo visibly jolted at the contact, snapping out of whatever trance he had been in. But, for some reason, the fear that had taken hold of him shifted to a defensive anger. Ripping his hand from Ned's, Turbo glowered at him. "Fuck off!"

Ted blinked widened eyes in disbelief, any sense of pity he had been feeling disappearing. He shoved past Tapper with a glow in his eyes, grabbing Turbo roughly by the collar. This earned the attention of several of the patrons, the game itself growing a little more quiet. "Don't talk to him like that." He growled out. "Or, you'll have more than a little nausea to worry about when you sleep tonight."

Ned's eyes were wide as saucers, the pain his chest from Turbo's statement now replaced with a newer terror. "T-Ted—"

"C'mon." Ted snapped, eyeing Tapper in his peripheral before letting Turbo go and stalking out of the entrance to the game. Ned was nearly frozen in place, his conflicted gaze slowly shifting to Turbo.

Turbo himself looked as though he were still processing what had happened, the color drained from his face in what Ned assumed was fear. But, both he and Tapper soon found this wasn't the case as Turbo shuddered and gagged into his hand as he had done earlier.

Ted had realized no one was following him shortly after arriving at the monorail, but at this point, he was too ticked to care. They could come home when they wanted, why the hell should he bother with it.

As the train arrived in Game Central Station, Ted got off and briskly walked across the span of the station with a fire in his eyes. It wouldn't have bothered him if Turbo had told him to fuck off, but it was the fact that Turbo had the audacity to do it Ned. Not even that, he did it when Ned was only trying to HELP. With this, it took every bit of Ted's code to keep from punching or kicking anything in the nearby vicinity.

The trek to the plug, as well as the train ride, were eerily silent for Ted as he brooded on the interaction he had experienced minutes before. He couldn't understand how Turbo had the nerve, and his head pricked as he briefly considered going back to the code room. It was with this consideration that he debated doing something he probably shouldn't, but he tried to remind himself that if Turbo were to become too messed up, no one would be able to play the game.

Meanwhile, Ned was currently clasping his hands over his mouth, trying not to get sick as Turbo was currently doing. He and Turbo were in the bathroom once again; Tapper would have accompanied them, but he still had a bar to run and didn't want to leave his other patrons too long. In addition to this, Tapper had to explain to the patrons what was happening, and that they didn't have to worry about it.

As Turbo retched again, Ned closed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. What Turbo had said earlier still stung, yes, but he was now more filled with concern than anything else.

Turbo was getting sick and no one knew why.

Feeling his stomach twist as Turbo began to throw up again, Ned hugged himself tightly with a whimper. He tried to block out the sound, desperately wanting to think about anything else. But, the twin's closed eyes only tightened as Turbo's convulsing sickness was all he could hear, prompting him to back up and lean against the nearest stall door. He just wanted this to be over so he and Turbo could go home.

Moments later, to Ned's further distress, he felt his eyes well with tears as he opened them. His lip quivered as he slumped over a little, choking back a sob; he refused to cry, no matter how much he wanted to. Turbo needed him more.

Time ticked on, and it soon grew silent other than the two brother's labored breathing. Ned forced himself to return to Turbo's side at this silence, crouching down so he was level with Turbo's hunched over body. "A-are you okay…?"

The tears from Turbo's eyes dripped into the muddled water, and momentary panic entered Ned at the prospect of Turbo crying. Though, it took him a second to realize that Turbo was probably only crying due to vomiting. Not that that comforted him any more than his previous assumption. Reaching a hesitant hand forward, Ned slowly rubbed Turbo's back in a placating gesture. "I'm sorry you don't feel good.."

Turbo drew in a small breath through his nose, his drooped head lifting up. The nausea had left his body for the time being, but this didn't leave him any less disoriented than before.

Ned winced as Turbo's body shuddered, though he wasn't prepared for the smaller racer to try and stand. "Woah—no no…!" He gasped, quickly standing as well to steady Turbo's shaking form.

"I just want to go home…" Turbo rasped, his vision swimming as he stumbled back.

Ned felt the pity in his heart grow heavier, his gaze flicking downwards before it returned to Turbo. "I-I know, I do too…"

Though, both of them were thinking the same thing. Dealing with Ted wasn't exactly the highest activity on their priority list. While Turbo was worried about Ted's direct outrage, Ned was more concerned with trying to convince Ted to not do anything.

But, Ned knew they would have to both deal with it eventually, so he took a step back, gently leading Turbo with him. "It'll be okay...he won't do anything..I won't let him."

* * *

 _Yay we're getting into it now! XD I'm glad people are reading this, and I hope you're enjoying it!_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	7. Chapter 7 - Now's Really Not The Time

Chapter 7 - Now Really Isn't the Time for Yelling

* * *

Ted had already stormed into the house by the time his brothers were leaving Tapper's. He slammed the bedroom door shut behind him, glowering daggers at it as he stepped away. Though, he slowly unclenched his fists and drew in a breath through his nose. Okay...okay, it wasn't so bad. He was just overreacting; if he hadn't been searching for Turbo so long he wouldn't be as pissed about the whole ordeal.

Maybe there was guilt too?

Ted blinked as he took another step back, this thought meeting him. No, he couldn't have done all of that to Turbo by just touching one little thing. Turbo was just being an ass like normal.

But, that didn't explain the sickness, or uncharacteristic fear.

Mentally shaking his head, Ted turned away from the door to look at the room. It was how he and Ned had left it, but Ted felt like there was something different about it. With furrowed brows, the twin ripped his helmet from his head and threw it at the wall with a cry of anger.

Shoulders now heaving, Ted backed up, glaring out the window. While he couldn't see the entrance to their game, he could see the podium, which caused a greater tension in his chest. "Okay…" He muttered stiffly, drawing in another slow breath through his nose and counting to ten in his head. "It's okay, Turbo just doesn't feel good because...because…" Going silent in thought, Ted murmured out possible reasons for Turbo's strange actions.

At this time, Ned, as gently as possible, was trying to help Turbo out of the monorail upon its arrival to TurboTime. The twin's worried gaze didn't leave Turbo for a moment in case he needed to do anything quickly. "How do you feel..?"

Turbo stumbled a little, but this didn't stop him from trying to shove Ned away. "I can do it by myself.." He hissed.

Ned didn't know whether to be hurt by this, or relieved that Turbo was acting like...himself? "A-Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Turbo snapped, prompting Ned to flinch back and let go.

"I'm sorry—I'm just trying to help.." Ned murmured, taking a small step back and trailing behind Turbo as they began to head towards their home.

Turbo, during this walk, was desperately trying to figure out what was going on. His nausea hadn't come back yet, but he had a sinking feeling in his code that it was going to be a recurring thing. He just didn't know why, and this frustrated him further. Not to mention the frustration he already felt from being a jerk to the twins. He couldn't control that either, and not having a feeling of control was making him go insane.

Ned could just about feel the waves of anger Turbo was emitting, and he quickened his step a little to walk beside Turbo instead of behind him. "What are you thinking about…?" He dared to ask, wincing as Turbo glared at him in his peripheral.

"None of your business.." He growled. Why did he say that?

"Oh...I'm just worried about you—"

"Well don't be! Why are you so goddamn nice to me all the time?!" Turbo suddenly shouted back, his risen voice causing him a sense of dizziness.

Ned's eyes widened and he attempted to stammer out a reply. "I-I don't know I just don't want you to b-be upset or hurting…!"

"But WHY?!" Turbo demanded to know, his frustration with Ned shifting to himself now. "I've never done anything good for you OR Ted!"

Ned stalled, unsure of what to say. He didn't really know why he treated Turbo so kindly, he just felt like he needed to care. Maybe the same couldn't be said for Ted, but that was a different story in itself. "I-I don't know..!"

"Well, stop it." Turbo retorted flatly, glaring back forward as their home neared. Deciding this was the end of the conversation, he stepped into the garage first, heading into the house with Ned trailing a few strides behind.

Ted's head pricked as heard a door slam, and moments later, Ned stepped into their room. "You're finally back, thanks for coming when I asked you to." Ted stated sarcastically, prompting Ned to visibly recoil.

"T-Turbo got sick again…"

"Good for him."

"Hey…! You don't have to be mean…!" Ned feebly attempted to argue.

Ted turned to face Ned now, but didn't come any closer. "Oh, I'M not the one being mean! Turbo shouldn't have—"

"I know…! I know, okay…?!" Ned interjected, a sense of anxiety constricting his chest at the thought of fighting with Ted. "He doesn't feel good and I'd be confused if I felt like that too…!"

"Don't try and defend him." Ted warned sharply, now taking several steps towards Ned. But, his glare faltered as Ned backed away in turn. Frowning in realization, Ted's shoulders relaxed and he drew away. "Hey—you don't have to be scared of me," He assured in a much quieter voice.

"I don't think Turbo knows what he's doing…" Ned managed to say after a few seconds of silence.

Ted nearly scoffed at this idea; he was still trying to inwardly assure himself that he didn't mess up Turbo's code in the first place. "Yeah, sure…" He grumbled.

"I'm serious…!" Ned replied, hugging himself as he hesitantly rounded Ted to get to the bed. "I think he feels bad...he asked me why I was being so nice to him, and said he couldn't understand why...because he'd never done anything nice to us."

Ted blinked at this new information, taking a few paces back to lean against the wall as Ned sat on the bed. "Hmph.."

Ned slowly pulled his helmet off, now noticing for the first time that Ted's was on the floor a little ways away. Before he could ask why it was over there, Ted spoke up. "What happened after I left?"

Ned gently set his helmet on the ground and flopped down so he was lying along the width of the bed. His worried gaze centered on the ceiling as he tried to think of a reply. "Turbo just got sick again...that's really it.."

"Hm…" Ted muttered under his breath, crossing his arms and scuffing at the ground with his foot. "He's in his room, right?"

"Yeah.."

Biting his lip in thought, Ted sighed out and stood back up. "I guess I should go apologize or something."

Ned blinked and sat up propped on his elbows, his expression mildly shocked. "Really..?"

Ted muttered a 'yes', begrudgingly heading towards the door and slipping out of the room. "I'll be right back."

Unknown to both twins, Turbo had been attempting to listen to their conversation, his ear up to the wall (of which was now possible due to him removing his helmet). Hearing them through the gap in the hallway was proving to be difficult, and he jolted back as he realized Ted was going to come in to see him. Momentary panic flashed through him, but it quickly faded into that of annoyance. Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

A knock on his door prompted Turbo's gaze to flick to it, and he took a step back, running his hands through his hair. He debated not saying anything, but he snapped out a 'what do you want' without thinking.

"It's Ted, in case you're wondering." Ted informed. "I just want to talk."

"Whatever." Turbo dismissed, giving Ted his cue to enter the room. As the twin stepped inside, Turbo glared at him. "Why are you bothering me?"

Ted rolled his eyes, shutting the door. "I just want to apologize."

Turbo blinked, one brow raising. "Why."

"Ned says you don't actually mean what you're doing because you don't feel well." Ted explained, gesturing towards the twins' room through the door as he mentioned Ned. "Is that true?"

A sense of hurt pride flared inside Turbo and he crossed his arms, glowering elsewhere. "So what if it is." He growled out.

"Oh, so it is?" Ted observed, prompting Turbo's further annoyance.

"This doesn't mean I hate you two any less." Turbo enlightened sharply, much to Ted's irritation.

"WHY do you hate us?" He decided to ask.

Turbo almost said he didn't know, but thought against it. "You idiots are NPC's, you're the enemy of the game."

"So what?"

"Isn't that reason enough?" Turbo argued, gazing to Ted in the corner of his eye. "It's just in my programming."

"Sure." Ted responded flatly, tired of this assumption. "That's not a good enough reason."

"Oh, so it doesn't please you?" Turbo mocked, causing Ted to draw in a breath through his nose.

"That's not what I meant. It just sounds like an excuse to be a jerk." Ted stated, inspecting Turbo's body language. He could tell the shorter racer was uncomfortable and annoyed, but this didn't deter him from continuing to speak. "Something that WOULD be in your programming is to race. Not to be a jackass."

Turbo's head pricked at the curse, sensing a greater hostility in the air. "Oh, so you're immediately an expert on code?" He retorted.

Ted momentarily thought about his experience in the code room, and how he had royally messed up. "No, I'm not. It's just common sense."

"It's just common sense," Turbo satirized, "That you two are the banes of my existence. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"It's kind of hard to when you're the one causing all the problems."

Turbo inwardly winced, his head turning back towards Ted with a storm in his eyes. "Me?!"

"Yes, you." Ted replied calmly. "I just came in to apologize and you're turning it into an argument. Need I remind you of the other instances your anger has gotten the better of us?"

"No thanks, blockhead. Just leave me alone." Turbo snapped back. "Why don't you go bother Ned instead if you like him so much more than me."

"I wonder WHY I like him more." Ted muttered sarcastically, though Turbo caught it. It stung for a reason he couldn't identify.

"You know what?" Turbo began, briefly shaking his head as a wave of lightheadedness washed over him. His voice grew quieter at this, losing some of its malice. "You can go fuck yourself. I don't need you bothering me."

Ted's eyes narrowed and he took a step forward. "Well, you know what I think?" He began icily, noticing how sick Turbo began to look. "I think you're getting just what you deserve."

With that, Ted left the room and slammed the door shut behind him. Turbo stumbled back a little, holding his head as the loud noise prompted a splitting headache. With gritted teeth, he sat back against the bed, trying to make the room stop spinning. This was proving to be unsuccessful, and a sense of motion sickness coursed through his code. Suddenly sitting up, he frantically searched the room for a trash can.

Ned had been unable to hear the conversation, but assumed in defeat that it hadn't gone well when he heard Ted slam the door. As his brother stepped into their own room, Ned looked up, his brows furrowed. "What happened…?"

"Turbo's just," Ted sighed in frustration, "He's impossible to deal with. No matter what happens, he starts an argument."

"He doesn't mean it—"

"Yes he does!" Ted snapped back, now fed up. "I'm tired of him walking all over us!"

Ned's gaze was off the other twin now as he dipped his head, focused on the floor. "I-I don't think he wants to do it…"

"You're just too nice to see it, have you forgotten what he's done? We haven't even been plugged in a DAY! I can't deal with this for YEARS!"

"M-maybe he'll get better…" Ned breathed, gripping the sheets underneath his fingers tighter. "I don't think fighting will help.."

"Well that's too bad! Because, no matter what we do, he's going to fight with us anyway!" Ted flared. Ned flinched back, feeling burning tears well in his eyes. Due to his head being bowed, Ted couldn't see it, which gave the angered twin no warning to stop. "I wouldn't care if he left the game. If he got us unplugged, we wouldn't have to deal with it anymore!"

"St-stop…!" Ned pleaded, his voice broken as he suddenly stood. "It's not his fault!"

Ted blinked, momentarily shocked as Ned's voice had risen more than he'd ever heard before. This shock dissipated as quickly as it had come, though. "You're lying! You just want to see the best in EVERYONE! Turbo is insensitive, he doesn't care about us!"

"Stop! You can't talk about him like that! H-he's just hurting and you have no right to try and hurt him more!"

Ted scoffed incredulously, laughing as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'M hurting him?! What about everything he's done to you!"

"I-I don't care what he does to me! He doesn't deserve to be in pain!" Ned cried back, his voice growing hoarser. "What good does it do to hate him?!"

"Why don't you ask him that?! He does it to US!" Ted retorted, gesturing wildly behind himself in the direction of Turbo's door. "If you would just stop being so ignorant then you'd actually understand!"

"I-I'm not ignorant! I'm just not heartless like you!" With that, Ned bolted from the room, shoving Ted out of his way. He didn't stop as he fled down the steps, through the living room and the garage, and eventually across the length of the game, sobbing and rubbing his eyes as he ran to the exit of the game.

Ted's shoulders were still heaving from the ordeal, and he shouted out in frustration, kicking his helmet that was still on the floor. "Fuck! Fuck—fuck!" He screeched, his head flicking towards Turbo's door. Oh, he was about to get it.


	8. Chapter 8 - A Bit Darker Than Home

Chapter 8 - A Bit Darker Than Home

* * *

Turbo panted over the edge of the trash can he had managed to find, continuing to retch into it as nothing would come up. It didn't help his mind was beginning to have a mental breakdown at the fight he had just heard, either. But, his head pricked as his door suddenly opened and Ted stalked into the room. With widened eyes, Turbo fell back, now propped on his elbows as Ted towered over him.

"This is your fucking fault you asshole!" Ted screamed at him, his voice rasping from his previous yelling. Turbo's eyes widened further, and he winced as Ted continued to drill him. "You're tearing this fucking family apart!"

Turbo could barely stammer out a comeback. "W-Well, fuck you! I don't care about you two!"

Ted's eyes narrowed and he grit his teeth, his eyes blazing as he disregarded Turbo's reply. "I hope you're fucking happy!"

"Y-you're the one who was yelling at Ned, not me!"

"Why the hell do you think I was doing it, huh?! If you weren't such a fucking heartless piece of shit none of this would be happening!" Ted snarled, lunging forward and grabbing Turbo by the collar, yanking him up and slamming him against the wall. Turbo gasped out as the twin pressed against his throat, his previous nausea only growing worse. He was now eye to eye with Ted, clutching the twin's forearm.

Ted's eyes narrowed further, a sneer on his features. It took him a moment, but he finally spoke. "I have every right to drag you into Game Central Station and kill you myself."

"I-I don't think Ned would be very happy about that…!" Turbo tried say, his voice rough in both fear and the fact Ted was holding him up.

Ted's brows furrowed in consideration of this and he promptly released Turbo's throat, glaring down at the shorter racer as he hit the floor. "If you come near me or Ned again, I'll make sure you fucking regret it." He warned. With that, he turned to leave.

Turbo rubbed his neck sorely, his chest rising and falling from the adrenaline the encounter induced. He watched Ted exit before leaning his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and letting out a ragged sigh. This was just great. Turbo-freaking-tastic. At this, his nausea subdued itself, his broken code growing confused at everything it was being subjected to in such a short amount of time.

Ted slammed the door leading to the garage open, as it had been ajar from Ned's previous escape. He glared through the room, taking note of how all three cars were still there. That must mean Ned was on foot. Still fuming, the twin stormed out of the garage and began to head towards the exit of the game.

Ned himself was now bolting through Game Central Station, ignoring passerby's concerned looks and questions at his sobbing. His tear filled, frantic gaze turned up to the titles of the plugs, searching for one in particular. Though, he brought himself to a stop as he noticed what he was looking for before quickly turning and darting inside.

Upon arriving by train into the game, Ned's eyes widened at the unfamiliar territory. He wiped his eyes with his sleeves as he stepped off of the monorail, trying to compose himself slightly before he met who he wanted to talk to.

The building in the distance daunted Ned a bit, considering its height compared to the only building in TurboTime. He knew that Felix had explained the point of the game, and now Ned understood what he meant. Well, it would only make sense Felix knew a lot about it, considering it was his game.

Unsure what to do as he began to head towards the main building of Fix It Felix Jr., Ned hugged himself and glanced around warily. It was constantly night in this game, it seemed, a stark contrast to TurboTime's consistent day cycle. Would that make it easier for the characters to sleep…? Briefly wondering this as he neared the front door, Ned craned his head to look up at the full height of the building. A feeling of lightheadedness hit him as he imagined what it would be like to be on the top floor.

Slowly heading up the steps and reaching for the handle of the door, Ned pulled it open and slipped inside. The foyer of the building seemed nice to look at, hinting at the quality of the rest of the floors. The elevator in the distance made Ned wary, though.

How was he supposed to know what floor to go to in order to find Felix?

As he hesitantly made his way towards it, Ned nearly jumped out of his skin as the elevator made a sound, its doors opening. Blinking, Ned took a step back as Felix noticed him, a smaller character standing next to the handyman. "Oh, hello! Uh," Felix laughed a little and smiled as he stepped out of the elevator, "Which twin are you?"

Momentarily fearing he looked like a wreck, Ned turned his head away slightly. "Uhm...Ned," He murmured, avoiding Felix's and the character's gaze.

"Well, what brings you here, neighbor?" Felix replied, he and the character heading closer to Ned.

Resisting the urge to back up, Ned forced himself to look at Felix now. Felix himself blinked, noting Ned's puffy eyes and tired appearance as he got near enough to notice. "I uh...I wanted to talk to you…"

Felix and the character glanced at each other. "Mary, if you'll pardon me, we can go out to BurgerTime as soon as I'm done talking to Ned here." He said to the character, and Mary nodded. Ned blinked as her movements were a bit jerky, but he was too polite to ask why.

"No problem, I'll be up in the penthouse with Gene, then." She responded, waving to Ned as she got back onto the elevator.

Upon her leaving, Felix returned his gaze to Ned. "Are you alright? You look mighty shaken up!" He observed.

Ned flinched and rubbed one arm nervously. He could feel his body threatening to break down again as he remembered the previous confrontation. "U-uhm…"

Sensing a sore topic was the cause of Ned's distress, Felix stepped forward and placed a hand on Ned's back to lead him forward. "Come on, we can go to my room to talk, I'm sure you don't want to stay in the foyer!" He laughed, pressing the button on the elevator to call it back.

The elevator ride was awkwardly silent, with Ned focusing solely on not bursting into tears. Felix would give him a side glance every few seconds, worry beginning to form on his features as he could see Ned's eyes growing wetter. Debating speaking up, Felix fiddled with the hammer on his toolbelt and decided to keep quiet until they arrived at his room.

As the elevator dinged to signal it had arrived, Felix and Ned headed through the now open doors into another hallway. Felix aimed for one of the doors and opened it, gesturing for Ned to enter with a smile. Ned, who was now hugging himself again, stepped into the room, shakily gazing around. Blinking, he noticed one of the walls on the far side was lined with medals, all with Felix's name on them. "W-what are those for…?"

"Oh! Those are the medals I win when a player beats the game!" Felix informed, taking a stride to stand next to Ned. "I believe it would be OUR game's form of a trophy."

Ned nodded slightly, turning to look at the rest of the room. It was filled with general bedroom furnishings, and Ned's head pricked as he noticed a window on the far side of the room. Heading over to it, his eyes widened as he realized how high up they were. It must have been the 15th floor…! Ned's lightheaded feeling returned with a vengeance and he took a quick step back to get away from it's cause.

Felix's head tilted and he rested his hand against Ned's back again to steady him. "You alright there, friend?"

"Heights…" Ned breathed, realizing this was something he was not alright with in the slightest. The ground was definitely safer.

Felix nodded, gently guiding an unsteady Ned to the couch that was near a coffee table. "Why don't you take a seat and get yourself oriented?" He offered, sitting down on the couch himself. Ned did the same after a moment, sitting stiffly and refusing to relax back on the cushions.

Felix blinked at this demeanor, crossing his hands on his lap. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Once again reminded of the previous disaster that had taken place, Ned tensed further, his grip tightening around his torso. "I—I…" He trailed off, his chest constricting. Felix patiently waited for him to talk, not wanting to press anything. A few moments passed before Ned spoke up again. "Th-things haven't been going so great for us…"

"What do you mean by that…?" Felix questioned, trying to tread lightly.

"T-Turbo...he got into a fight with me and Ted and then he ran off and...Ted and I went looking for him...and I found him but he was really sick and we don't know why…!" Seeming to grow more upset as he continued to talk, Ned shuddered and breathed in raggedly. "A-and then we went home and Ted and Turbo got into a fight and then I started fighting with Ted because he was being so cruel to T-Turbo…! Ted and I have never fought before…!"

Felix nodded slowly at the onslaught of information. He could tell Ned was a little more sensitive than his brothers, so he knew that fighting was probably slightly more hurtful to Ned than it generally would be to others. Not that fighting wasn't hurtful in the first place, but Felix had an inkling that this was a bit more severe. However, he was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt Ned shake beside him, the twin crumpling inwards and beginning to sob.

"T-Ted called me ignorant—I'm n-not ignorant…! I'm not…!" Ned rasped, heat crawling up his spine.

Felix could see the symptoms of a panic attack nearing, prompting him to lean forward and place his hand on Ned's back again. "Easy...I don't think you're ignorant," He assured.

Ned sniffed, blinking tears out of his eyes as they began to blind him. "Turbo's in a lot of p-pain and Ted won't leave him alone…! H-He said he was going to apologize but they just started fighting again…!"

Felix sighed, trying to process the details of Ned's anxieties. "Maybe it'd be best to keep them apart for a little bit." He suggested, his eyebrows furrowing as Ned only sobbed out through his teeth again. "It'll be alright, just let it out…"

"T-Turbo's really sick…" Ned spoke up after a moment of trying to compose himself. "H-he keeps throwing up and T-Ted and I don't know why…!"

"Hmm…" Felix breathed out, gazing downwards slightly in thought. "Did he eat anything to make himself sick…?"

Ned slowly shook his head, his lower lip quivering as he tried to keep from bawling more. "He wasn't th-throwing up anything…"

Felix's lips pursed in further thought, sighing out after he was unable to think up any solutions. Normally he could fix everything, but this seemed to be a roadblock. "I'm sure he'll be alright before the arcade opens."

"N-not if Ted keeps—" Ned paused, sitting up in realization. "I-I left them alone!"

"What's wrong with—"

"No—no no Ted's gonna kill him…!"

Felix's eyes widened. "Woah there, I don't think Ted would do that!" He began, shocked at the implication. "Things are just a little heated right now, there's nothing to worry about, I'm sure. No need to jump to any conclusions."

"B-But Turbo can't defend himself…!"

"Easy…" Felix tried to ease, his mind racing to find a resolution to this fiasco. "Do you want to go talk to them? I can go with you."

Ned sniffed, drawing in a shaking breath. His body quivered as he sat up, his teary eyed gaze flicking to Felix. "I-I guess…"

Felix smiled warmly, patting Ned's back as he stood. "Well, let's get going then! We've still got a little bit before the arcade opens, I'm sure we can sort everything out!"

If only they knew Ted wasn't going to have it. The enraged twin was scouring Game Central Station, searching in vain for his brother. "Ned!" He shouted, earning the attention of a few characters.

"Oh!" One of them began, now heading over. Ted's brow raised as it neared; it was a short frog-looking creature, and Ted faintly remembered Felix mentioning a game that had a frog in it. "I'm Frogger, from the game, well, Frogger." The frog said, smiling despite Ted's scornful look. "Are you looking for someone?"

"What makes you think that." Ted growled, though Frogger didn't seem to be bothered by his attitude.

"I saw someone who looked a lot like you running by earlier," The small frog responded, now earning Ted's attention. "He looked really upset—"

"Where did he go?!" Ted snapped, prompting Frogger to hop a little and gesture towards one of the plugs that was a little ways away.

"He went into Fix it Felix Jr.," Frogger informed. "I sure hope he's alright."

"He will be." Ted replied darkly, muttering a thanks before beginning to head towards the plug.

Frogger watched the twin leave, his head tilted slightly. "Good luck!" He called.

Ted barely heard him at this point, too lost in his own thoughts. All he needed to do was drag Ned home before the arcade opened. Just get through a day of racing; maybe Turbo would actually win a game and stop being a jerk about everything. If he could even race, that was.

This idea nearly made Ted stop in his tracks. If Turbo couldn't race due to being so sick, well… With narrowed eyes, Ted thought otherwise. Turbo would race, it didn't matter if he felt sick or not. Ted would personally haul Turbo to his racecar if he needed to. They weren't going to get unplugged because Turbo couldn't deal with a little nausea.

Shaking his head, Ted glared up at the title of Felix's game as he passed under the entrance of the plug. Though, as his gaze turned forward, a frown formed on his face as the monorail wasn't in its place at the station. "What the hell—how am I supposed to get in now?" He exclaimed in exasperation, throwing his hands up as he said it.

However, to his luck (and Ned's misfortune), the train was already on its way. It was seconds later that Ted realized this, his head swiveling towards the sound that neared at the beginning of the tunnel. He blinked as he noticed Ned almost immediately, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Felix as well.

Ned and Felix, on the other hand, didn't notice Ted at first. Though, when Ned did, his eyes widened and he nearly fled the car before it had a chance to stop. "Woah—woah!" Felix gasped, grabbing the twin's arm before he could bolt away. Ned jerked back from being taken a hold of, his eyes shutting tightly and his body tensing in fear at the possible ensuing confrontation.

Ted crossed his arms, watching coldly as Felix managed to convince Ned to get off of the monorail and be within at least 8 feet of his brother. Upon being in that close of a proximity, Ned hugged himself and kept his gaze elsewhere, focusing on the wall as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

Felix only smiled awkwardly, giving a small wave to Ted. "Hiya there, Ted!" He greeted, laughing a little nervously as Ted's eyebrows only furrowed further. Clearing his throat with a small motion of his hand, Felix continued. "So, Ned told me what happened—"

"Did he?" Ted growled, his gaze flicking towards the opposing twin. Ned noticeably flinched at this, closing his eyes tightly. "And how was his side of the story? Was Turbo completely free of doing any wrong?"

Felix clasped his hands in front of himself, his smile faltering. "Now Ted, I'm sure your side of the story is a bit different—"

"You think?!"

"—and I would like to hear it, but I want Turbo to be there too so he has a chance to speak."

Ted chuckled under his breath, one brow raising. "All he's going to do is lie, so what does it matter?"

"It wouldn't be fair to exclude anyone from speaking," Felix tried to reason as gently as he could, his gaze looking to Ned every few seconds. "There must be a misunderstanding that's going on—"

"Yeah, what you're misunderstanding is that Turbo is going to lie through his teeth just to get out of any consequences. I already told him to keep away from me and Ned, so it doesn't matter what you say." Ted retorted, taking a step forward and reaching his hand out. "C'mon Ned, we're going back, the arcade is going to open soon."

Ned quickly shook his head, prompting Ted's eyes to narrow. "Excuse me?" he hissed out, his raised arm slowly falling back to his side.

Felix, sensing the growing hostility, stepped between the twins now. "Hey now, no need to get worked up. We can just talk all of this through in a nice, calm manner."

"Calm? How do you expect me to be calm?!" Ted exclaimed back, his voice slowly rising in volume. "The main character of our game is barely functional! If he can't race—we're going to get unplugged!"

"No…!" Ned rasped out, his once closed eyes now open wide in terror. "We—we can't get unplugged…!"

"Well that's what's going to happen!" Ted snapped back, his fists clenching at his sides. "Turbo can barely go ten minutes without throwing up his guts, how do you expect him to race?!"

"Ted, please calm down." Felix interjected, using enough force to earn Ted's attention. "Nothing will get fixed if you throw a fit and start a panic. I'm sure there's a logical reason for Turbo to be feeling ill."

Ted wanted to say he knew why. Or, at least he figured he knew. "Why does there have to be a reason?! It doesn't matter—what DOES matter is that he's probably going to get sick during the arcade's open hours, and that's definitely not in the game's programming!"

"Stop—stop…!" Ned pleaded, holding his head tightly and lacing his fingers in his hair with tightly closed eyes. "Stop it…! We're not going to get unplugged!"

"Please you two, just calm down." Felix urged, one hand held out to each twin as if to keep them apart. "There's no need to get worked up, it won't fix anything. We should be taking this time to figure out what's wrong with Turbo in the first place."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Ted sneered, crossing his arms and turning away. He didn't just mean it as a dismissive statement, he knew that they would never know or consider Turbo's code being the cause of this. Rather, he hoped this. But, even if they DID figure it out, they'd have no proof that Ted did it in the first place.

"We can surely try," Felix responded, reaching out for Ned's hand to lead him onwards. "Let's go to TurboTime and see what we're dealing with."

Ned's eyes snapped open as he felt Felix's touch, momentarily fearing it was Ted trying to drag him back to the game. But, he slowly relaxed as he realized it was only Felix, relenting his stiff posture to begin following the handyman. His step quickened slightly as he tried to slip past Ted, who continued to remain still as they passed before following behind.


	9. Chapter 9 - Mediating Isn't Easy

Chapter 9 - Mediating Isn't As Easy As It Looks

* * *

Turbo, during the time of this ongoing conflict, was still sitting where he'd been when Ted left. He was still trying to process what had been going on the first place, and a newer discomfort had developed in this time. He had a strange pain running up the higher part of his spine, leading into the back of his skull. It was akin to a splitting headache, but it spanned a larger area than a normal headache would go.

Taking deep breaths to try and alleviate the torment he was now going through, Turbo kept his head leaned back against the wall, feeling the hair around his forehead beginning to stick to him as sweat formed. What he wanted to know more than anything was why all of this was happening. Nothing had prompted any of his ailments. Maybe it was all just payback for starting fights?

But, that wasn't his fault, he was sure of it. It's not like he WANTED to fight, it happened on its own before he even had a chance to argue with himself. Though, even knowing this, Turbo still felt a deep hatred for himself in his chest. His resentment only prompted more headaches and nausea, which he was positive would have happened because of said resentment regardless of his code acting out or not.

It was to Turbo's further surprise that, as he grew further wayward in these hateful thoughts, tears began to burn at the edges of his eyes. And, for the third time that day, he tried to force them away. He didn't care whether that was healthy or not, he didn't have time to cry. Even if he WAS alone; anyone could show up at any time and he didn't need them seeing that.

Now trying to swallow the searing lump in his throat, Turbo's head lifted as he swore he heard a noise coming from the lower level of the house. Blinking widening eyes, he tried to stand, stumbling a bit and mainly using the wall for support. In the process of this, he held his stomach with one arm as a sore feeling edged forward from his previous vomiting.

Felix's gaze observed the new territory he had arrived at, having never seen any other character's homes besides his own. It was definitely different, to say the least. "Nice place you got here," He commented, earning Ned's silence and Ted's muttering as a response.

"C'mon." Ted hissed through his teeth, beginning to head upstairs. "Turbo SHOULD be in his room."

Turbo's gaze darkened with worry and he backed up against the wall at hearing Ted's voice. But, it didn't sound like Ted was just talking to Ned. He blinked in surprise as Ted, Ned, and Felix entered his room, all three wearing different expressions. Speechless at first, Turbo forced himself to talk. "What do you want?"

Ted opened his mouth to reply, but Felix got to it first. "Ned came to me to talk, and the three of us decided it would be best for us to talk as a group and figure out a solution to what's going on."

"So they needed you to mediate?" Turbo observed, growing wary.

"I only want to help, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you guys." Felix assured, lifting his hands up placatingly. "We're going to have to make it quick, though. The arcade's going to open soon." He added.

Turbo's gaze flicked between the three of them, sensing different vibes from each. Deciding to avoid Ted altogether, Turbo returned his attention to Felix and Ned. He nearly asked Ned if he was alright, but his mind, like a switch, immediately discarded this and instead made him say to Felix, "Why do you even care about us? It's not like we've done anything good for you."

Felix gave a shrug, smiling in a friendly manner. "It wouldn't be right to not help characters in need, especially when it's only their first day in our arcade! I wouldn't want to make a bad first impression, after all."

Turbo wasn't sure whether he was satisfied with this answer, but decided to disregard it as a more pressing question came to his mind. "So how do you expect to help us?"

Felix, in light of this, turned his gaze to each of the brothers. "Well, I want to get everything sorted out, there seems to be a lot of tension going on." He gave a small shrug. "It would be a bit helpful to get more information, though."

As no one offered up an explanation, Felix cleared his throat. "All I really know is that there's been a few fights, and Turbo," His gaze turned to the shorter racer, "Has been feeling rather unwell."

"Unwell is an understatement…" Turbo muttered, his eyes narrowing as Ted scoffed. "Hey—!"

"If you feel so 'unwell'," Ted cut in, making air quotes, "Then how do you expect us to play the game when the arcade opens?"

Turbo blinked, this thought now crossing his mind. He'd been so disoriented that it hadn't even bothered him. "I'm sure I'll be fine." He lied. As Ted scoffed again and Ned began to look a little more uncomfortable, he added in, "What—you think I won't?"

"You literally can't go ten minutes without puking." Ted retorted blandly, crossing his arms. "I'm sure the players will love it when you get sick while racing."

"I won't get sick while I'm racing!" Turbo countered, a headache beginning to bother him. And, upon Ted's narrowing eyes, he narrowed his right back. "I'm not weak. I can deal with it."

"Yeah, sure." Ted replied incredulously, prompting Felix to cut into the conversation.

"Now now, calm down, arguing like this won't solve anything. We just need to figure out how to fix everything, and do to that, we need to find the root of the problem."

"These two are the root of my problem." Turbo growled through his teeth, glowering at both of the twins. "Their fighting didn't help my headache at all."

"Oh, wow! Poor you, asshole." Ted snapped back. "Why do you think we were fighting in the first place?!"

"I don't know—maybe it's because you're just a jackass to Ned all the time!"

"Me?!" Ted stated, laughing slightly in disbelief. "You're one to talk!"

"G-guys please stop…!" Ned pleaded, curling inwards on himself a little. "I-I'm sorry—"

"You don't HAVE to be sorry." Ted interjected, his glare flicking between Turbo and Ned now. "It's not your fault Turbo's a fucking screw up."

"Woah—woah, enough of that!" Felix broke in, now standing between Ted and Turbo in a similar fashion that he had been doing earlier to the twins. "If you two need a break from each other, that's fine, we can talk separately."

Turbo had inwardly flinched at Ted's statement, moreso believing it himself. He wouldn't be seen acting hurt by it, though. "Go fuck yourself! Just leave me the fuck alone! I don't need this."

"P-please stop…!" Ned rasped out, his fight or flight response beginning to kick in. He slowly started to back up, but Felix turned to look at him with a warm gaze.

"Easy, Ned." He started, now turning to look at Ted. "Ted, do you think you could give us a moment?"

"Whatever. I didn't want to be here anyway." Ted replied sharply, whipping around and leaving the room, his footsteps leading down the stairs growing quieter as he left. The sound of a car engine could be heard shortly after, leading the others to assume he was going to drive off his anger.

"Okay...now that things are a little calmer," Felix began quietly, looking between Ned and Turbo. "Let's talk about what's been happening."

Ned, seeming a little less anxious, finally spoke up. "I...I just want things to go okay...I don't want us to get unplugged—I don't want you to be hurting…" He breathed, his nervous gaze turning to Turbo as he said it.

Turbo was unsure whether to be touched or offended. "I'm not going to get us unplugged."

Ned appeared to lack belief in this statement, returning his sight to the floor. "T-Ted said that—"

"I don't care what Ted says. He's just being pissy." Turbo broke in, causing Ned to flinch and Felix to speak up.

"Everyone's just a little stressed out, and I can understand why." Felix stated, his posture seeming to relax as well. "I'm still a little unsure as to what's causing all this, but I AM sure that it's all going to be alright."

For a moment, Turbo wanted to disagree. He wasn't really sure what was going on, or how in the hell to fix it. And, his doubt was only solidified as his nausea began to slowly return. Ned, upon looking up, noticed Turbo's paling face, his eyes widening in worry. "Uh—uh...are you gonna—"

"No.." Turbo breathed, his balance beginning to get thrown off as the room started spinning.

Felix blinked as he began to see what the twins had been talking about, slightly reaching forward. "Take it easy, Turbo. If you need to sit down, that's alright—"

"I'm fine!" Turbo snapped, his voice ragged. Even at this, he allowed himself to sit down onto the floor, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "You should probably go, the arcade's going to open soon." He added in.

Felix faltered, not willing to dismiss this as false when it was actually true. "I—I know, I know, let's see...uh…" He looked downwards for a moment before turning back to Turbo. "I'll come visit you guys when the arcade closes, alright? Just try and take everything slow, it'll be alright."

At this point, Turbo didn't have the energy to say anything snippy back. Ned was also silent, his anxiety crippling his will to speak. Felix sighed a little, taking a small step back. "It will be okay, I promise."

Ned's gaze followed the handyman in his peripheral, murmuring a goodbye. Felix tipped his hat in reply, taking one last look at Turbo before leaving the room.

The silence that ensued was filled with enough tension that it couldn't be cut with a chainsaw. Turbo, now wracked with nausea, let out a slow breath through his nose and breathed in through his mouth, trying to alleviate the sickness. Ned, on the other hand, took a small step forward, reaching his hand out. "Do you want me to help you up…?" He offered quietly.

Turbo's brows furrowed as he opened his eyes, relenting his hurt pride and taking Ned's hand. Ned pulled him to his feet, steadying his shaking form. "Okay...we've got a little bit until the arcade opens, let's get uhm...Ted and get ready."

At this, Turbo gently pushed Ned away, heading over to the table beside his bed to get his helmet. Upon slipping it on, he followed Ned out the door, the twin stopping in his own room to grab his and Ted's helmets. The two of them walked downstairs, Ned glancing behind himself every few seconds to make sure Turbo could manage. As they arrived, they both stepped into the garage and out into the sunlight.

Ned's gaze pricked as he noticed Ted on the far side of the track, speeding at what must have been a hundred miles per hour, or so it looked. Upon nearing the garage, Ted skidded himself to a stop, his car sliding slightly sideways in a drift. He briskly got out, snatching his helmet from Ned before returning to his car, leaning up against it. "So are you going to race?" He questioned Turbo, an edge to his voice.

Turbo's gaze narrowed. "Not like I have a choice, so get off my case."

Ned winced, glancing between them. "U-uhm...it's going to be okay…"

"Yeah, sure." Ted growled, his head pricking towards the screen as the outside world began to light up. "C'mon." He snapped, getting into his own car. "We might as well look like we're doing something when the players get here."

Turbo scoffed, mocking Ted under his breath. "We might as well look like we're doing something...give me a break." Nonetheless, he and Ned got into their own cars, starting them up and heading towards the starting line.

* * *

 _Stuff's about to go down! You have been warned :3_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	10. Chapter 10 - First Day's Always Scary

Chapter 10 - The First Day at Work is Always the Scariest

* * *

It didn't take long for players to notice the new game. "Woah…! Look—a racing game!" One of them gasped, running up and standing on his tiptoes to see the screen and reach the steering wheel controller. Soon after, the familiar clinking sound could be heard under the racer's cars, signalling that a quarter had been inserted. Gripping his steering wheel tightly, Turbo tried to will his sick feeling away as he heard a small theme song play in the backdrop before a voice spoke up.

"Ready? GO!"

Turbo's gaze flicked to the side as the twins sped off, dust in their wake. But, Turbo blinked as he realized he wasn't in motion. Momentarily, he looked up to the screen in confusion. The small player looked as though he was having a bit of trouble, his eyes barely visible on the bottom edge of the screen. He tried to turn the steering wheel, and this motion now prompted Turbo's movement. The jolting sensation caused the pain in Turbo's neck to flare up, and he drew in a sharp breath to try and ease it away.

Luckily for him, the small child seemed to know to turn at the corners, but he would come awfully close to the edges of the track. But, to Turbo's dismay, he still had two laps to go. And, to add to this, the twins were already very far ahead. Though, Ned seemed to be trying to hold back. Turbo mentally cursed the twin for this; it wouldn't be a real win if Ned was LETTING him win.

About thirty seconds passed in the duration of the second lap, and Turbo wasn't sure to feel relieved at being in the third lap now. His reason for being wary was the fact that his nausea was creeping up on him again, almost daring him to keep racing and face the consequences. But, even if he wanted to stop, he couldn't. His eyes narrowed as the twins were already at the finish line by the time he was halfway around the track, and upon crossing the finish line, Turbo hopped out of his car and headed begrudgingly to the podium. He kept himself from glaring up at Ted who had once again won the race.

"Aww man...I lost." They heard the child say as he took a step away from the console.

Turbo was forced to smile until they knew the screen had faded black, and his usual scowl was quick to return. "Don't say a fucking word." He hissed to Ted, who only watched him with raised eyebrows. The twin placed his trophy behind the podium so he wouldn't have to run to the house to put it inside, but his gaze trailed to the door he knew was there. A guilty feeling edged into his chest, but he shook his head and ignored it, returning to his car for the next player.

The next few races went generally okay with Turbo coming in second and third, and, upon the fourth race, he finally won. His joy was short lived, though, as his nausea was growing worse and worse and he now began to feel rather lightheaded. Ned seemed to notice this as he was near Turbo on the podium, but he stuck with his programming and only smiled at the screen.

By the next race, Turbo could barely keep himself from throwing up. His programming screamed at him to keep racing, but his sentience argued against it. As he finished the race and stood on the second tier of podium, it took every bit of his code to keep from bolting off the view of the screen to get sick. Ted glowered at the shorter racer in his peripheral as the screen went black, and he scoffed as Turbo made a beeline towards the opposite end of the track.

Ned's gaze followed Turbo with a worried glint in his eyes, his sight flicking up to the player's screen to make sure no one was going to try and play the game. Slowly, the twin followed the path Turbo had taken and kneeled beside him, reaching out to pat his back. He closed his eyes as Turbo only gagged and retched, appearing to be in a large amount of pain as nothing would come up.

Ned's eyes opened and his head turned as he heard someone nearing behind him, his brows furrowing at the expression Ted was wearing. It almost looked guilty for a moment, but it soon turned stony as he crossed his arms. "Don't take too long."

"F-fuck you…!" Turbo rasped, his body shuddering as he swallowed the sour taste in his throat. With Ned's slight aid, he managed to stand, glaring at Ted with as much energy as he could muster. "Just leave me alone."

"It's kind of hard to when you're potentially putting us at risk." Ted retorted, prompting Ned to sigh out.

"Guys...please stop…" He breathed, his head pricking as he noticed a player nearing the screen. "W-we gotta go…!"

Ted turned quickly, muttering something under his breath as he ran to his car. Ned glanced to Turbo as the other twin left, murmuring that it would be okay and to just try and take it easy. The two returned to their respective cars just in time, the sound of a quarter entering their game as they hopped into the vehicles.

It only took a few more races for Turbo's nausea to return. But, this time, he tried to force it away with more vigor, beginning to grow tired from the effort he was exerting to do so. Though, to his luck, the hours began to pass a little faster. A few more victories were granted to him, and as the day trekked on, the game grew increasingly popular. More and more players were excited to see the first racing game in the arcade, all wanting to get their hands on trying to beat the ever growing high score.

Surprise soon met Turbo as the next racer in line took hold of him and began racing like a pro. He had already managed to lap the twins on his second round, and Turbo wanted to smile as he noticed the glare Ted was wearing. 'Haha, get fucked!' He thought with a smirk, speeding over the finish line in record time. At this, he momentarily forgot the pain he'd been going through and grinned at the screen, putting his thumb up to the player. "Turbo-tastic!"

Upon arriving at the podium, Turbo found himself smiling, really smiling, for the first time in, well...he wasn't sure he'd done it before. Just the look of utter annoyance on Ted's face was enough to help him overlook everything wrong that'd been going on. Ned seemed to be conflicted at this, happy that Turbo was happy, but nervous at Ted's growing vexation.

The end of the day neared with little conflict in Turbo's code. His nausea seemed to subside as time passed, and gradually, he began to relax.

That was, until the last race of the day.

Everything seemed to start normally: Turbo and Ted were competing for first place as usual. The player looked to be around 14, his hair scruffy and his expression of which was pure determination. As Ted began to pass Turbo, the child's eyes narrowed and he suddenly slammed the wheel to the left. Turbo jolted as he was flung sideways, his car colliding with Ted's. An instant migraine plagued Turbo at the force of striking against Ted's car, and Ted slammed his brakes, trying to keep from crashing into the nearing grass and wall. Turbo attempted to do the same, forcing himself against his programming to jam his wheel in the opposite direction.

It was at this that Turbo realized his mistake, his car's tires skidding from the speed and sudden direction change. As they hit the edge between the grass and track, his brakes ceased to work. He quickly shut his eyes, turning away as he collided with the wall.

A box flickered in the dim light of the code room. Its casing was cracked, and the sound of breaking ice permeated the area around it as it shattered further, the code once inside now scattering. The remains of the box began to flicker with binary, unable to deal with the forces of Turbo's regeneration.

Ned watched the scene as if he were witnessing a murder before his very eyes. Ted had managed to stop before hitting the wall, his head flicking around to find Turbo. The child behind the screen tilted his head, waiting patiently for Turbo to regenerate.

After what seemed like forever, though it was only a few seconds, Turbo began to flash back into existence on the last part of the track he had been touching. He slowly lifted his head, his tightly shut eyes opening. Though, he jolted at the first thing he saw: his hands, glitching red and flashing with binary. His eyes widened and he quickly looked down at himself, noting that the rest of his body was doing the same.

The child behind the screen raised his eyebrows. While his view was different from what the TurboTime characters could see, he was getting the gist that something was wrong. In his point of view, Turbo's sprite was flickering red, the pixels in his general area glitching different colors. Frowning, the player quickly turned around, searching for Mr. Litwak.

Ted's mouth dropped in shock. No—no, they were going to get unplugged!

Ned, upon managing to stop his car, hopped out of the driver's seat and bolted in Turbo's direction. Ted's head pricked as he noticed this motion in his peripheral, his eyes widening. "Ned, stop!"

"T-Turbo…!" Ned gasped upon nearing, his eyes already wet with panicked tears. "What's happening…?!"

Turbo could barely respond, let alone breathe. "I—-I d-don't knO—w…!" He managed to rasp out, his still terrified gaze focused on his glitching torso. Ned tried to shake him out of it, but he jolted as Turbo's glitching form only passed onto him, his body flickering blue. He jerked back, gasping in pain as it continued to do so for a few more moments.

Ted screamed as many curses as he could in his head, turning to face forward. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, a sick feeling edging into his throat. They were going to get unplugged—fuck, they were going to get unplugged…!

It was moments later that the child returned, gesturing towards the screen. "See?"

"Huh…" Litwak murmured, his brows furrowing. "Well, sorry about that sport, here's your quarter."

"Did I break it…?" The child asked, gazing at his hand as Litwak handed him the replacement quarter.

"I'm sure it's just a little bug, nothing we can't get looked at in the morning." Litwak replied with a smile, turning his head to gaze at the time. Six o'clock was quickly nearing, prompting him to take a step back. "Well, I'd better get to closing this place up, why don't you check back tomorrow? We'll see if TurboTime still has a few years on its belt." He paused, gazing back to the child. "Oh, and don't worry about the game too much," He assured, patting the kid's back. "I'm sure it'll all get worked out."

As the child and Litwak turned away, Ned stumbled away from Turbo, taking deep breaths as he recovered from losing a solidified form. And, before Ted could reach them after leaving his own car, the twins' heads lifted as a strange, orange hue washed over the span of the track.

Ted squinted as he tried to read the letters of what was covering the screen, stopping in his tracks as he realized what was happening. "No—no no no!"

"Out of order—what does that mean..?!" Ned questioned in a panic, his hands shaking.

"We're going to get unplugged—shit, shit we're going to get unplugged!" Ted exclaimed, ripping his helmet from his head and chucking it in a random direction. At this, he began to breathe rather rapidly, his fingers digging into his hair. "Th-they're going to unplug us!"

Ned's bottom lip quivered as a nearing sobbing fit was trying to emerge, but his gaze flicked back to Turbo. To some relief of the twins, Turbo had stopped glitching, but was now trying to rip himself from his car. He fell back onto the track with a gasp of pain, scrabbling backwards and trying to get to his feet.

Ned's ever widening eyes followed Turbo's movements, his ragged breathing causing his shoulders to shake. "T-Turbo—are you okay…?!"

Turbo stumbled back a little, gazing to his hands as if he'd just seen a ghost. "W-what the fuck...what the—what was that?!"

Ted began to anxiously pace, pulling harder and harder on his hair and accepting the pain that came with it. He swore in his code he knew what was going on, it was his fault, fuck! It was his fault—he messed with Turbo's code and now everything was going horribly wrong!

The lights in the outside world began to flicker off, signalling that the arcade was due to close. Ned took small steps back, desperately trying to process everything that had begun to happen, Ted's frantic exclamations not helping any.

"We—we're getting unplugged…!" Ted cried, his pacing only beginning to quicken. "We weren't even here for a day, a DAY!"

"S-stop…!" Ned begged, his anxious gaze flicking between his twin and Turbo. "Litwak s-said he was going to get us checked out in the morning…!"

"What does that matter?! It's not like we can fix it!" Ted began, though he jolted to a stop as an idea struck him.

Ned blinked in confusion at Ted's ceasing movement, his brows furrowing. "What? What is it...?"

"N-nothing!" Ted stammered back, his head snapping up to face Ned as he said it.

Turbo, now beginning to tune into the conversation, gazed between the twins. "What the hell is going on?!"

Ted's widened gaze glanced to Turbo at this, and he opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak. "It's—uh...it doesn't matter!"

Turbo expression switched to that of annoyance, his eyes narrowing. "What the hell do you mean it doesn't matter?! Whatever just happened is getting us UNPLUGGED!"

"N-no, we...we're not getting unplugged—we're not…! We can't!" Ned rasped out. "It's not really happening—we're...we're not…!"

Turbo's sight turned to Ned now, his gaze growing a bit less icy in consideration of the twin's reaction. "We don't know if we're getting unplugged for sure—"

"Like fucking hell we're not!" Ted interjected, jabbing his hand with emphasis in the direction of the Out of Order sign that was covering the screen. His plan required an anxious facade, and he was going to do his best to act like it. "What does that say?!"

"I know what it says—but like Ned said, Litwak said he'd get us checked in the morning!" Turbo snapped back, the edge in his voice returning.

"Yeah, 'checked'." Ted growled back, making air quotes with his fingers. "He just told the kid that so he wouldn't feel bad!"

As Turbo noticed in his peripheral that Ned was beginning to crumple in on himself and shake heavily, he centered his glare back to Ted. "Hey, shut the fuck up! You're not helping!"

"I'M not helping?! It's YOUR fault that this is happening in the first place!"

Turbo's gaze widened in disbelief, then narrowed in anger. "My fault?! How is this MY fault?!"

"OBVIOUSLY this is you getting just what you deserve! If you hadn't been such an asshole then none of this would be happening! And now you're dragging us down with you!" Ted retorted, gesturing to Ned as he emphasized the 'us'.

Turbo winced inwardly, already believing this to be true. To him, this was all happening as a sort of karma, payback for being the biggest jerk possible. He couldn't control it, but that didn't matter. What did matter that he was committing it, and was making no effort to stop. Or, at least, he thought he wasn't.

"I hope you're fucking happy." Ted decided to add on, which would prove to be a mistake he didn't realize he was making.

Turbo now flinched outwardly, closing his eyes and drawing in a breath through his nose. "Well you know what...?!" He began, his voice hoarse as he opened his eyes. "I hope when we get unplugged that you get fucking left behind and die with the game!"

"Oh, yeah—yeah sure!" Ted began to counter, now consciously ignoring Ned's slowly deteriorating mental stability. "At least Ned would be sad about that! But if YOU die with the game, well, Ned and I would actually be HAPPY! And I don't care if we're homeless, at least the burden of your existence will be gone!"

A small glitch shuddered through Turbo's body as his distress grew detrimental. Tears flickered in his dulling eyes and he shoved past Ted before either twin could see them, bolting for the house.

Ned's widened gaze followed Turbo's form before it turned to Ted. "H-how could you say that…?" He breathed in disbelief, now taking fearful steps back. "H-how...how could you say that—"

"Oh, so what HE said wasn't as bad?!" Ted started icily, gesturing in Turbo's direction. "Sure, when he wants ME dead then it's all fine, but as soon as I say the same about him then it's the end of the world?!" His mind was racing before he could even think about what he was saying. The previous attempts at a forming a facade were beginning to crumble into emotions he didn't know he had been holding back.

Even he didn't know why he would have said something like that.

"T-Turbo's just in pain—he almost didn't r-regenerate…! You're acting like he's doing this all on purpose…!" Ned replied shakily, though his voice began to grow a little stronger as he continued. "H-he was literally glitching—he could have died for REAL! H-he's sick and we don't know why, and as soon as he messed up on accident you were attacking him like he was doing it all on purpose!"

"He might as well be doing it on purpose—this is his fault anyway!" Ted retorted, taking a side glance to the podium that was nearby. Turbo was already gone, now he just needed to get Ned to leave. "If you feel so fucking bad for him then why don't you go deal with him!"

Ned's gaze flicked over Ted, studying him as if it were the last time he would see him. "W-what happened to you…" He rasped out, his brows furrowing as he took a step back. "You would have c-cared too...but...you don't…"

Ted also took a step back, rolling his eyes in the process. "Maybe if Turbo hadn't been such a horrible person I'd actually sympathize with him."

"H-hey! If anyone's being a horrible person it's YOU!" Ned snapped back, his voice rising to an unfamiliar volume. "Turbo m-made one mistake, just ONE and you start acting like he's some hateful, spiteful person! You literally said we would be happy if he never existed!" He took a step forward as he continued, his gaze narrowing. "If he n-never existed then neither would WE! I-I was right when I said you were heartless!"

Ted winced slightly, wishing he could tell Ned what was happening. But, he was too far into it and could probably never escape until everything was resolved. And, before he could reply, Ned cast him a final glare before running towards the house. Ted watched him go, his expression slowly shifting from one of anger to one of regret.

* * *

 _Welp! Not the best first day XD_

 _We're not even halfway through the story yet! I hope you're excited!_

 _Oh, and thank you to everyone who's been reading this! It means SO MUCH to me!_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	11. Chapter 11 - Character Development

Chapter 11 - Character Development Isn't Very Fun

* * *

Turbo slammed his door shut behind him, ripping his helmet off in a similar fashion to Ted before throwing it across the room. His glare followed it as it rolled slightly upon hitting the floor, its form growing blurry as mere seconds passed. At this, Turbo quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, his chest and shoulders heaving with his breathing. How he hated himself, god how he hated himself.

"Why are you such an ass, huh?!" He hissed out hoarsely, speaking to no one other than himself. "You're such a fuck up—now your game is getting unplugged because you're such a fucking fuck up!" He could feel the pit in his stomach growing more intense, the burning sensation of a lump in his throat slowly becoming unbearable. "Y-you're a fuck up—you shouldn't e-even exist…!" His statement wavered as sobs began to lace into it, and he took shaky steps back. "F-fuck…! Stop being s-such a fucking screw up…!"

Ned quickly made his way up the steps, now seconds away from knocking on Turbo's door to see if he was alright. But, he froze as he caught something in his hearing, and he slowly lowered his arm from where it had been about to knock. His eyes widened as he realized what he was listening to, one hand going up to his mouth.

At this point, Turbo was on the brink of a sobbing fit, gazing down at his hands as a glitch shuddered through them. His pupils flicking over the momentary red binary, Turbo's body shuddered as a wave of hyperventilation washed over him, and he could feel several streams of tears running down his cheeks. He barely even heard Ned open the door, realizing it a second too late as Ned was suddenly pulling him into a hug.

Panic flashed through Turbo now and he shoved against Ned's hold. "F-fuck you! Get the fuck off me...!" He rasped out, pushing with as much force as he could against Ned's torso, with little success of escaping at that.

Ned gazed down at him slightly, tightening his embrace. "H-hey...relax…"

Seconds of Turbo's struggling continued, his breathing only beginning to grow more hoarse. "N-Ned get the f-fuck off! St-stop…!" He begged, his voice wavering.

Ned closed his eyes as he could feel Turbo's relent starting to ease, and with this lowered amount of struggling came a greater indication of Turbo's imminent sobbing fit. "It's okay…"

"I-It's not fucking o-okay…!" Turbo cried, feeling a wave of heat slither up his spine. "G-get off…!"

"Shh…" Ned breathed out, hugging Turbo closer as the shorter racer had now ceased trying to escape. Resting his chin on the top of Turbo's head, concern edged into him at the essence of heat he could feel. And, a further sadness etched itself on his expression as he sensed Turbo's body shudder with a held back sob.

"St-stop helping me…!" Turbo began shakily. "I-I've never d-done anything good to you!"

"That's not true…just relax…" Ned eased, trying to get his own posture to relax as well. As Turbo weakly pushed against him again, Ned gripped him closer. "It's not your fault…"

"Y-yes it is…!" Turbo finally sobbed, burying his head against Ned's chest. "I f-fucked it all up…!"

"No you didn't…" The twin assured quietly, slowly beginning to rub Turbo's back. "It's not your fault...you didn't do this on purpose…"

"I don't c-care…! I-I still fucking hate myself…!" Turbo confessed amidst a sob, a glitch shuddering through his body. This time, though, it wasn't strong enough to pass onto Ned. And, upon occurring, it only reminded Turbo of everything that had happened, proving that what was taking place was actually real. This thought prompted Turbo's held back sobbing fit, his body crumpling forward slightly.

Ned let out a quiet sigh through his nose as he felt Turbo beginning to break down, whispering out quiet assurances through Turbo's sobs. "Shh...it's okay...shh…"

Oh, how Ned wished Ted could see this. Maybe it would actually make Ted feel some sort of pity, maybe it would help him realize what he'd done.

Turbo's continuing sobs caused Ned's own eyes to wetten with tears, but he kept them back as he knew Turbo needed him more. "I-it's okay...it's okay—just breathe…" He soothed, now feeling Turbo's tensed posture beginning to relent to one of defeat.

"I-I'm a horrible person…" Turbo continued on, though it was frailer than his previous exclamations. "I'm getting u-us unplugged—it's all my f-fault…!"

Ned shook his head at this, resting his head a little more into Turbo's hair. "It's not your fault...it's not, I know it's not…"

As the seconds passed, Turbo's weakened sobs were the only sound to be heard. This didn't keep Ned from ceasing to hold him close, and currently, Turbo had, in essence, relaxed into Ned's taller form. Silence soon reigned, now prompting Ned to draw back with his hands on Turbo's shoulders. He leaned down so he could be eye to eye with the shorter racer, worry and concern flooding his gaze.

Turbo, in turn, kept his sight downwards, blinking any remaining tears from his eyes. Ned's expression shifted slightly at this, and he slowly reached up, brushing the stray tears from Turbo's cheek. "It's okay...I promise it's okay…" He assured, trying to smile in a reassuring manner. "We'll get it all figured out…"

Turbo's gaze turned up to Ned now, his pupils flicking ever so slightly in observation of Ned's face. He drew in a shaking breath before quickly looking away once more, his brows furrowing as a small glitch shuddered through his body. "I-I just...want t-to know why this happening…" He rasped out, sounding broken and confused.

If only they knew that Ted had all the answers. Or, Ted thought he did anyway. At this point in time, the wayward twin had already made his way into the hallway leading to the code room, his nerves sending chills throughout his body. He was more scared than not to see what had happened to Turbo's code, and as he neared the door, he took a moment to pause. Well...might as well get it over with. Upon retrieving the tether and securing himself to one of the wires, Ted input the code for the door to open, and-

"Oh shit…!"

The light from the hallway flickered its way into the code room, illuminating the disaster that was culminating. Ted's gaze flicked over what he could see, further amounts of terror etching onto his expression.

"No—no no…!" He breathed out, now wasting no time to enter the gravity-defying space. He, as quickly as he could, made his way over to where Turbo's code was located, his hands shaking as he held them back to keep from touching anything.

The box where Turbo's complete code was located had shattering cracks on its surface, small amounts of red light shining through. In the places where the cracks had formed into holes, code was edging its way out, small error symbols flashing in their vicinity. Hesitantly, Ted reached out and tapped on the broken box. His yelp echoed through the room as it flashed open and bits of binary scattered upon being released. They stuck to Ted at first, but, upon finding that he was not a viable source of life, promptly abandoned him.

Ted's gaze followed them before it turned back to Turbo's tragedy ridden code. The boxes that were still intact were glitching lightly, the tops and bottoms of them sparking as if wires had been disconnected. And, the boxes that had been rid of use were flashing in and out of existence, wavering in form. Ted could barely make out what the boxes had been; all he knew was that he had seriously messed up. How could it have come to all this from touching ONE little thing?!

Ted's sight now returned to the boxes that were still somewhat of use. His brows furrowed at the small sparks of light that came from them, and he, in turn, turned to look around the code room for any lost wires that could have come loose. Upon not finding anything, he pivoted his gaze back to the boxes. "Crap—crap...what the fuck do I do…?!"

Slowly reaching forward, Ted tried to grab a box that read 'Emotions', the label itself glitching red. His expression shifted in confusion; hadn't Turbo's emotions been in the 'Attributes' box…? As his fingers grazed it, the box opened, a distorted sound accompanying it. Ted's gaze flicked over the mess of words and code that were released, drawing in a slow breath as a sensation of lightheadedness washed over him. Great—he forgot that the code room did that.

Further uncertainty inscribed its way onto Ted's expression as the seconds passed. Most of the words he could make out weren't even emotions! "What the…" He whispered out, reaching towards an icon that read 'Regeneration'. Upon touching it, however, the familiar sting of pain met Ted's fingers and the icon shattered in a glitching mess of code. "Ohh shit…!" Ted breathed, a panicked feeling wracking its way into his chest.

Did this mean that Turbo couldn't regenerate anymore?!

Upon its ceasing, the 'Regeneration' box dispersed a small amount of binary in its wake. Ted's widened gaze followed it as the bits of code attached themselves onto icons in the nearby vicinity. And, at this, Ted rasped out a 'no' as partial amounts of the binary engraved themselves into the icon regarding Turbo's general anger. The icon flickered as it was forced to accept the code, the wires tethering it in place slowly beginning to snap away. "Fuck—fuck stop…!" He cried, grasping out to grab the disappearing wires.

The remaining code that hadn't violated its way into Turbo's anger attribute had driven itself into other attributes, those of which involved Turbo's various emotions, as well as his coordination and stamina. And, upon unsuccessfully trying to stop the wires that were disappearing, Ted drew back, his panicked gaze flicking over the disaster that was unfolding before his eyes.

What remained of Turbo's code flashed and glitched in its place, the small icons and boxes seeming to be unable to handle the stress they were being forced to deal with. Ted inhaled sharply as the familiar feeling of nausea creeped into his stomach and his vision began to waver, his lightheadedness now returning.

Shakily waving his arms to steady himself, Ted allowed his vision to relay back to the area around Turbo's 'Emotions' box. The scattered code had settled itself into the icons that were nearby, no doubt interfering with what they entered. Ted's breathing began to grow rapid in both distress and nausea, and he blindly outstretched his grasp to grab at the glitching code. "Stop—just go back to how you used to be…!" He begged, hissing through his teeth as pain shocked its way into his fingertips from touching the binary.

Turbo's gaze flicked up from where it had been centered on the floor. He was currently sitting on the edge of his bed with Ned kneeling in front of him, blinking in momentary confusion. And, seconds later, his eyes narrowed at Ned, who at this point had stopped speaking. "Turbo, what is it…?"

A small glitch flickered through Turbo's body as his expression shifted. In a sudden motion, he had left the bed and shoved Ned to the floor, towering over the twin's shocked form. "Get the fuck away from me!"

Ned's eyes were wide in shock, and he began to try sitting up, now propped on his elbows. "T-Turbo…! Why—"

"Did you not hear me?" Turbo growled out, his head tilting slightly at this. Now taking a step forward, he leaned down and grabbed at Ned's collar to hold him closer. He had no plans at trying to lift Ned up, as he knew this would be impossible, but instead opted to bring Ned's head forward slightly. "I don't fucking need you, so get out of my sight."

Ned barely knew what to say. "W-what happened…?! I thought y-you—"

"You thought I actually cared? That I was going to be all emotional around you?" Turbo retorted icily, his gaze thinning and his grip tightening on Ned's collar. "You're an idiot if you think I give two fucks about you."

Ned's eyes began to wetten with panicked tears. "I-I don't understand…!" He rasped out, his breathing growing shallow. "Y-you were crying and you let me h-help you and—...!" His voice broke off with a gasp of pain as he was struck on his cheek, his head flinching to the side.

Turbo drew his fist away, promptly letting go of Ned's collar and watching the twin fall back onto the floor. Upon being released, Ned's hand whisked up to his face and soon under his nose as blood began to flow. His body quickly wracked itself with a sob, and he gazed at Turbo with eyes as wide as saucers. "I-I'm sorry…!" He cried out, struggling to back up.

Turbo opened his mouth to reply, but his head pricked as he sensed motion near the entrance of the room. He blinked as he realized it was Ted, who had now taken a step back, trying to process what was currently taking place.

* * *

 _OH BOY WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN OWO_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	12. Chapter 12 - Getting Physical

Chapter 12 - Getting a Little More Physical

* * *

Ted's gaze snapped between Turbo and his twin, immediately noticing the blood staining Turbo's hand. Rapidly analyzing the situation, he deduced that Turbo had lashed out, and for what reason, he didn't know. Well, maybe he would have known if he hadn't been subjected to so much stress over the last half an hour. Panic settled at first, but it quickly shifted to an overprotective anger. "Turbo—what the fuck?!" He exclaimed, taking a step into the room.

Turbo drew back, his blazing stare centered on Ted now. "Tell your twin to fuck off."

"What—why did you hit him?!" Ted exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as he made several strides in Turbo's direction.

Turbo didn't back up despite Ted growing closer. "I hit him because he wouldn't leave—"

"I-I was trying to h-help you…!" Ned stammered out, choking back any further sobs. "You w-were crying…!"

Ted's gaze flicked back to Turbo. "Are you serious?!" He snapped, the distance between him and Turbo now only inches in length. His height allowed him to tower over the shorter racer before him, his fists clenched at his sides to keep from lashing out. "Are you really serious?!"

Turbo's eyes narrowed further, though he still didn't back down. "What—you think I'm just going to let you two idiots bother me? He wouldn't piss off when I told him to, that's reason enough."

"He was trying to HELP you!" Ted hissed, giving a side glance to Ned. "I don't understand why you would bother helping him," He turned back to Turbo, "This fucking mistake hasn't done anything good to us."

Turbo blinked, now taking a small step back from Ted. "Mistake—I'm not a mistake you asshole!"

Ted laughed slightly and treaded closer to Turbo, who had begun to relent his posture and back away. "Oh yeah?" Ted began darkly, ignoring Ned's pleas for him to stop and watching as Turbo was now cornered against the wall. "Prove it. All you've done is mess up, and now you're getting us unplugged because you can't even hold yourself together; if you hadn't glitched out during the race, none of this would be happening."

Turbo wasn't exactly sure how to prove he wasn't a mistake, a screw up, a liability. Maybe he was? With narrowed eyes, his sight flicked past Ted onto Ned.

Ned himself was trying to stand, still holding his hand under his nose to keep from dripping blood on the floor. His widened gaze gaped at his brothers, his shoulders rising and falling with rapid breaths. "I-It's not his fault…!"

Ted's head swiveled in Ned's direction, his expression slightly shocked, but still holding its anger. "Are you really defending him right now?!"

"Th-there's something wrong with him—he can't control it…!" Ned tried to reason, turning to look at Turbo now. "H-he feels bad, I know he does…!"

"Like hell I do!" Turbo retorted coldly, keeping his focus on Ted once more. "Why should I feel bad for giving you two what you deserve?"

"How do we deserve this?! All of this fighting, getting unplugged—hitting Ned?! He didn't even do anything to you!" Ted informed incredulously. "Maybe I deserve it, but he doesn't!"

"Sure he does," Turbo replied flatly, giving a shrug of his shoulders as Ted's gaze thinned. "It's not my fault he's such a gullible idiot."

Ted leaned a little closer, his glare blazing. "Don't talk about him like that." He warned sharply, his fists tightening themselves.

"Oh, so you can call him ignorant but I can't call him gullible?" Turbo remarked, a small smile etching onto his features as he noticed guilt flashing in Ted's eyes. "That's pretty fucked up."

"Shut up." Ted growled under his breath, the flare of anger returning in his gaze.

"What?" Turbo started with a smirk. "Can't handle the fact you're more abusive to Ned than I am?"

"I said SHUT UP!" Ted snarled, suddenly grabbing at Turbo's collar and slamming him against the wall, leaving the shorter racer unable to touch the ground. "You're a fucking liar!"

Turbo, despite the circumstances, gripped at Ted's forearm and continued to give a cruel smile. "You wish I was."

"T-Ted, stop..!" Ned broke in, quickly heading over to his twin and pulling on his arm. "H-He doesn't mean it…!"

Ted shoved Ned back without sparing him a glance. "I warned you." He growled, his blazing scowl centered on Turbo. "I told you to keep the fuck away from us."

"Why? Are you scared I'll reveal who you two really are?" Turbo assumed, his look of defiance and conceit not wavering. "If that's the case, well, Ned's just a helpless fucking child and you're—!" His voice broke off as Ted pressed harder on his throat, restricting his vocal chords of use.

"Keep talking about Ned like that." Ted dared, his tone growing darker. "Go on, say one more fucking thing about him."

Drawing in a hoarse breath and pushing on Ted's arm to allow him the ability to speak, Turbo smiled coldly. "Y-you're only pissed because you know I'm right…!" He choked out, his gaze flicking to Ned. "T-Ted abuses you and you know it…! At least I have the excuse of being programmed like this, Ted d-does it just because he can…!"

"LIAR!" Ted shouted, wasting not a second to strike Turbo across the face before throwing him to the floor. As Turbo fell back, Ted jabbed his knee into the shorter racer's stomach to hold him down, now, in essence, kneeling on top of Turbo's torso with all of his weight. He kept one hand on Turbo's collar, the other drawn back to hit him again. "You're a fucking liar!"

Blood dripped down Turbo's chin from where his lip had been busted open, but his smile still didn't waver. "Y-you just don't want to believe you're abusive to the one p-person who actually trusts you…!"

With narrowed eyes, Ted struck Turbo again without remorse, ignoring the pain that it brought to his fist. And, at this, Ned scrambled forward in a panic and tugged back on Ted's shoulder. "T-Ted—stop! P-please…!" He cried, terror evident in his gaze. "H-he doesn't mean it!"

"Stop lying to me!" Ted rasped out, shoving Ned back with as much force as he could. "Both of you—stop fucking lying!"

"I'm not lying..!" Turbo sneered, waiting for Ted to turn back to him before spitting blood in the twin's face. "You're just too guilty to believe me..!"

Momentarily shocked at this, Ted wiped his cheek and gazed at the crimson now staining his fingers. It took him a few seconds, but his glare soon returned its focus on Turbo, blazing with anger and...guilt? "Shut up—just shut the hell up! This is YOUR fault!"

"If it's mine—then w-why do you look so guilty?" Turbo retorted, wincing back as Ted lunged to hit him again. The punch never came, though, and Turbo opened his eyes to see Ned pulling back on Ted's arm.

"T-Ted, STOP!" Ned begged, now trying to rip Ted off of Turbo's body. Due to being the same size as his twin, it wasn't as hard for Ned to succeed at this as it would have been for Turbo. Both twins fell back now as Ned managed to pry Ted away, Ned more so tripping from pulling so hard and Ted falling from being in such an awkward position.

Despite this, Ted was quick to recuperate, now struggling to his feet. Ned, in turn, had barely managed to sit up before he lunged and grabbed Ted's arm, jerking his twin back again. As Ted stumbled to the floor, Ned pinned him, pressing his hands on both of Ted's arms and straddling his body to hold him down.

"Ned—get the fuck off of me!" Ted screamed at him, trying to pull his arms from Ned's grasp. But, Ned wasn't willing to relent, and he only pressed down on them harder.

"No..! You're just g-going to keep fighting..!" Ned replied, fear evident in his expression. Despite this, he pushed with a bit more force as Ted continued trying to escape. "I'll let you go when you calm down..!"

"I'm giving him what he deserves!" Ted retorted, his glare fixating on Turbo. "He can't just get away with doing whatever he wants!"

At this point, Turbo had managed to sit up, wiping his lip with his sleeve. He gazed at the blood that smeared onto his clothing from doing so before looking to Ted. "Oh—but you can?" He inquired, one brow raised and a tilted smile on his features. "What makes you so special?"

Ted's eyes narrowed and he once again attempted to rip his arm from Ned's hold. "Ned, get off!"

"N-no!" Ned countered, his voice growing hesitant. "I...I think he's right…!"

Ted blinked in mild shock, his struggling ceasing. "Right—right about what?!"

Turbo's smile widened as Ned began to reply, getting to his feet. "H-he's...there's something wrong with Turbo but you're just...you don't HAVE to act this way…!"

"What am I supposed to do—just let him walk all over us?!" Ted demanded to know, his posture tensing as Ned shook his head.

"He feels bad for w-what he's been doing…! There's something wrong with him that he can't control, but you're acting horrible even though you can control it..!" Ned tried to explain, flinching as Ted's glare intensified. "T-Turbo has a reason to be mean but you don't…!"

"I DO have a reason!" Ted stated in defense. "It's HIM!"

"No—you don't understand…!" Ned replied shakily. "I was never mean to him and he opened up to me…!"

Ted's glower thinned. "Yeah, after hurting you! Why should I have to deal with it?!"

"Why should I have to deal with you?" Turbo interjected, growing closer. "Actually, why should Ned have to deal with you too?"

"I'm trying to keep him from getting hurt—"

"So you fight with him?" Turbo broke in, his smirk widening as Ted's expression shifted. "He actually ran away from you at one point, you do realize that, right?"

Ted had grown silent, seeming to be considering Turbo's statement. His gaze now returned to Ned, though he blinked as he realized that Ned's head was angled in Turbo's direction. A new thought slithered into the twin's mind, and without hesitation he used his brother's distracted state to his advantage, suddenly wrenching one of his arms free.

Ned's attention jolted back to Ted at this, panic wracking his chest as he was shoved to the floor. Turbo's sight also snapped to Ted, fear crossing his features as he quickly began to back up.

Ted managed to rise to his feet in a matter of moments, wasting not a second to stalk towards Turbo again. "You're going to fucking get it!" He snarled. "I don't care if it kills you—we're getting unplugged anyway!"

"Fuck you!" Turbo snapped back, glancing behind himself upon hitting the wall. "I'll just regenerate!"

Ted couldn't help but chuckle darkly under his breath. "I don't think you should be so sure of that." He hissed, promptly grabbing Turbo's collar and pressing the shorter racer to the wall. "I wonder how many hits you can take?" He added with a sneer.

By now, Ned had gotten to his feet, though he stumbled slightly in disorientation. "Ted—don't…!" He pleaded shakily, lifting his gaze and taking quick strides to stop his twin once again. But as he neared, Ted sensed the newer presence in his peripheral and turned, lashing out. Ned yelped and rapidly backed up to keep from being struck, his breathing growing shallow and his eyes widening in shock.

Turbo, too, was alarmed at this, his own inhalation increasing in speed. "You're seriously messed up..!" He rasped, stiffening as Ted returned his sight back to him.

"I'm not the one who's messed up!" Ted retorted, drawing back a clenched fist. "All I've been trying to do is fix this mess and everyone's attempting to stop me!" And, with this exclamation, he swung at Turbo, who in turn flinched back heavily upon being struck.

"No!" Ned shrieked, his voice broken in terror. He once again lunged forward, grabbing at Ted's elbow as it lifted back to swing again.

Ted's glare narrowed as he realized Ned was trying to stop him, prompting him to rip his elbow away and use it to jab his twin in the face. "Fuck off!"

This time, Ned wasn't quick enough to dodge, pain now flaring into his cheek. He stumbled back, holding where he had been struck with a shaking sob before gazing up to Ted again. "No! NO! Stop!" He screeched raggedly, wincing as his brother struck Turbo again. "Ted—stop, please!"

A glitch shuddered through Turbo's body as he was hit a third time, his cry of pain distorted upon its occurance. And, for a moment, Ted hesitated. His anger wracked thoughts were reminded of a key element he had forgotten in his fury. Turbo's code—fuck, Turbo's code! The code that was riddled with errors, the code that he had fucked up in the first place!

How the hell could he have forgotten?!

Or—did he not care?

He'd been aware of it, yet not at the same time. He knew it was his fault, yet he acted like it wasn't. He was just covering up his guilt.

Did guilt really do this to people?!

Or was he really that fucked up...?

Both?

Ted's posture slowly untensed, his breathing growing labored in realization. Holy fuck—this wasn't happening! At this, he promptly released Turbo and took quick steps back. His gaze snapped to his bloody knuckles, terror etching onto his features. Holy shit—

Quickly turning to look at Ned, he opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak. Ned's stare was currently on Turbo, though it locked with Ted's as the twin sensed he was being watched. "N-Ned—holy shit, I-I'm sorry…!" Ted stammered shakily, continuing to back away from both of his brothers. His focus flicked over Ned's face before it returned to Turbo, his mouth opening slightly as a bout of hyperventilation began to set in. "I-I'm sorry…!" He rasped, a sob scoring into his voice. "I'm so s-sorry…! I didn't mean it—I didn't mean it I s-swear…!"

To Ted's further distress, both Ned and Turbo didn't look as though they believed him. Why would they? Turbo had managed to stand at this point, wiping his bloodied face with his sleeve. Ned, on the other hand, studied Ted's shaking form, his brows furrowing. Both expressed symptoms of distrust, though neither would speak up.

Ted drew in a jagged breath, his hands beginning to quiver. "I—I didn't mean it…!" He pressed, despite knowing they would probably never believe him. As he continued to stutter out apologies and received no signs of forgiveness, the twin drew back further, seconds away from bolting out of the room. Before he had the chance, however, all three racer's heads turned to the door at a voice.

"Jiminy jaminy…! What happened here?!"


	13. Chapter 13 - Searching for Answers

Chapter 13 - Searching for Answers

* * *

Ted had been unaware that Felix had assured the others of his return, while Ned and Turbo had forgotten. Well, until now, that was. As nobody replied, Felix took another step into the room. "Are you all alright…?!" He asked, noticing the blood on Ned and Turbo's faces, as well as the tears staining Ted's cheeks.

Ted remained frozen, though he took a stride backwards as his mind slowly began to work again. "I-I'm sorry..!" He finally sobbed, now taking this as his chance to flee. Without a moment's notice, he shoved past Felix and out of the room.

Felix stumbled from being pushed before regaining his balance, his sight returning to Ned and Turbo. "What...what happened..?!" He repeated, now heading towards Turbo and drawing his hammer from his toolbelt.

Turbo's wary gaze flicked to the hammer before he took a step back. "What are you going to do with that?"

Felix blinked, glancing to the tool before looking to Turbo again. "Ah, right—my hammer fixes things when I use it," He started, earning an untrusting expression from Turbo. "In my game, Ralph wrecks the building and I fix it with this." He continued, wondering why he hadn't told them this before.

Turbo eyed the blood on his sleeve for a moment, now realizing the pain that he was faced with. Sighing, he returned his attention to Felix. "Does it work on other characters?"

Felix seemed to falter, laughing a little nervously. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, I know it works on me. It wouldn't hurt to try it though, by all means."

Turbo's brows furrowed further, but he eventually relented. "Fine, go ahead."

Felix took a small step closer, gently reaching his hammer forward and tapping it against Turbo's nose. The shorter racer flinched at first, though his eyes blinked open as the pain he had been experiencing disappeared. Upon regaining his vision, he was met with the smiling face of Felix. "Wonderful!" Felix beamed. "Is there anywhere else that's causing discomfort?"

Turbo glanced to Ned as he shook his head. "Ted only hit me in the face." Before Felix could question why Ted of all people would do this, Turbo extended his forearm where blood was stained on his sleeve. "You might want to get rid of this, though."

As Turbo's request was fulfilled, Felix quickly turned to Ned. "Uh...Ned, right…?" He tried to confirm, taking a step forward as Ned nodded. "Did…" The handyman paused briefly, "...Ted harm you as well?"

Ned drew in a small sigh through his nose, his gaze wet with panicked tears. "Y-yes…" He breathed, causing Felix's expression to shift in further confusion.

"Why would he do that…?" Felix questioned, wincing as his statement prompted Ned to let out a ragged breath, tears slipping down his face and smearing with the blood that was already there.

"I-I don't know…!" The twin cried, resulting in Felix raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"Easy Ned, it's alright brother, we'll get this figured out." Felix assured, now heading towards the taller racer with his hammer lifted. "I suppose you wouldn't mind leaning down a bit for me?" He added with a small laugh.

Ned proceeded to do so without comment, allowing Felix to heal what had been injured. After confirming that, like Turbo, Ned's face was the only area hurt, Felix took a step back. "Alright.." He began with a sigh, gazing between the two racers as he slipped his hammer back into his toolbelt. "What happened?"

Turbo crossed his arms at this, glowering to where Ted had disappeared. "That asshole who was here a second ago went completely nuts." He started, now glancing to Ned. "He had the audacity to make an attempt at murdering me, first of all."

Felix's eyes widened in shock, a hand going up to his mouth. "Why—why in code's name would he do that?!"

"Beats me." Turbo replied flatly, though his eyes narrowed as Ned spoke up.

"T-Turbo...Turbo started glitching when the arcade was still open…!"

Felix gave a sympathetic nod. "I noticed the Out of Order sign when I got here, so that's a viable reason for Litwak to think your game was broken."

"A-and…" Ned continued, his voice barely a murmur. "Ted started blaming Turbo for putting us in danger of getting unplugged...a-and he said that it wouldn't even matter if Turbo existed o-or not and that he would actually be happy if Turbo died with the game…!"

Felix blinked at this information, gazing to the floor in thought, though his sight returned to Ned as the twin continued to explain the situation. "And...and Turbo got upset a-and he came here and started crying—" His statement paused as Turbo gave a small scoff, "—and I was t-trying to help him and then all of a sudden he j-just flipped out he h-hit me—and Ted came back and saw it and then he flipped out too b-but he was taking it too far…!"

Felix breathed a small 'hmm' under his breath before looking to Turbo. "Do you know why you lashed out at Ned?"

Turbo shook his head at this, a bit of guilt flashing in his eyes. "I don't know, it just happened." He replied. "When Ted showed up, we started arguing and then he got pissy because I started saying things he didn't want to hear. And I wasn't lying, either."

"What did you tell him?" Felix inquired, making sure to glance at Ned once in a while to ensure the twin wasn't on the verge of a sobbing fit or panic attack.

"I told him that he's an ass for no reason." Turbo stated flatly. "At least I'm programmed to be this way, but Ted thinks he can do whatever he wants without consequence." He gazed to Ned again, his brows furrowing. "He abuses Ned whenever he feels like it, which doesn't make any sense considering he said he was trying to keep Ned from getting hurt in the first place."

Ned winced at this statement, now hugging himself with a shudder. "I-I don't understand...he wouldn't listen to m-me…!" He rasped, earning Felix's comforting gaze.

"I know, I know, it's going to be alright.." The handyman eased, drawing in a slow breath to gather his thoughts. "So, what I'm hearing is that Turbo," He looked to the shorter racer, "Did something without thinking, and he's not sure why. When Ted showed up, a confrontation occurred that went south, causing Ted to lash out at the both of you."

"Don't forget that he literally said he was going to kill me, AND he said I wouldn't regenerate." Turbo broke in.

At this, Felix's expression shifted to that of confusion. "Now why would he think you wouldn't regenerate?" He began, though he paused for a moment and quickly added, "Not that I'm saying it was alright of him to make an attempt at something so irrational."

"How the hell should I know?" Turbo retorted, once again gazing to the door. "He was completely unhinged."

"Hmm...that's a mighty bit shifty.." Felix started in contemplation, holding his hand up to his chin in thought and absentmindedly fiddling with his hammer. "Was he just saying that as a threat, or did he actually mean something by it?"

Turbo gave a shrug, glancing to Ned. "Ted's just being an irrational nuisance," He muttered, breaking eye contact with Ned when the twin looked up at him. "Though, he claimed to be trying to fix this 'mess' and that we were stopping him."

"I—" Ned cut himself off, his eyes widening slightly in realization. "Mess—mess..!" He started, his voice raising slightly in volume as he processed what was going through his mind. "He…when the first fight happened...he said...he said that he could fix this mess by altering your code…!"

Turbo's expression flicked to that of utmost shock. "He said WHAT?!"

Ned flinched back at the loudness of Turbo's statement, but he forced himself to speak. "H-he said that he didn't want you to hate us s-so he could change your code and that would fix it…! He said he couldn't d-deal with us fighting all the time…!"

Turbo's eyes narrowed to slits, his gaze filling with hatred. "That fucking—" He could barely get his words out. "That fucking selfish piece of shit! What the fuck?!"

"Easy Turbo, try to calm down," Felix urged, though his stance wavered as Turbo's glower flicked to him.

"Calm down?! This fucking moron thought he could just mess with my code and I should calm down?!"

"Now now, we don't know if he did it for sure. He may have just said it, but we don't have proof he actually went through with it." Felix tried to reason, his attention shifting to Ned as the twin began to speak again.

"H-he said he wouldn't, but...he left while I-I had been sleeping and said when he came back that he was looking for Turbo…w-was he lying…?" Ned's voice slowly began to grow more broken as his statement continued. "H-he lied to me…?!"

"Hey now, remember, we don't know for sure if he did this so we can't act irrationally." Felix pressed, though he winced in surprise as Turbo suddenly snapped into the conversation again.

"I know for fucking sure how to find out if he did it." The shorter racer hissed sharply. "We drag his sorry ass back into the game and have him show us where the code room is. He probably fucking knows anyway, and then we can see if he did anything."

Felix was hesitant to reply at this point. "Well..that is an option, but we should make sure we deal with it in a calm manner."

"W-what if he just lies a-again…" Ned rasped shakily, his shoulders shuddering as his breathing grew uneven. "H-he's been lying this whole time…!"

"If he doesn't want us to get fucking unplugged then he'll show us. Unless, he really was serious about not giving two shits if I died with the game." Turbo countered, his brows furrowing in thought. "But he wouldn't want YOU to die." He added, gazing up to Ned. "Or, maybe, fuck, I don't know. Who knows how insane he is now."

"H-he kept saying sorry—"

"Oh yeah, sorry really fucking helps!" Turbo retaliated, though he drew in a small breath. "Let's just go get him and deal with this before the arcade opens."

Felix and Ned cast each other a glance, both seeming uncertain, but unwilling to argue. It was all they could really do unless they felt like looking for the code room themselves, and who knew how long that would take. "Alright, let's go find Ted." Felix replied, taking a step back and turning towards the entrance of the room. Ned began to follow as Felix left, leaving Turbo alone in the room.

Turbo, who let out a frustrated sigh, glanced to where his helmet had been on the floor during the fight. With narrowed eyes, he trailed over to get it and slipped it onto his head. "You'd better hope you know how to fucking fix this, Ted." He growled out, heading out of the bedroom after the others.

Ned and Felix were now waiting for Turbo in the garage, the pair looking up as he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. "Hmm, where do you think he could have gone?" Felix questioned, frowning as he earned a glare from Turbo.

"Fucker probably left the game and went into another to get as far away from us as possible." Turbo muttered in reply, looking to the entrance of the garage before directing himself towards it, his gaze narrowing at first as the artificial sunlight bothered his eyes. Upon adjusting to it, he started heading towards the entrance of the game, not bothering to glance behind him to make sure Felix and Ned were following.

Despite this, Felix and Ned were following, beginning to talk quietly between themselves. "W-when does the arcade open…?" Ned breathed out, watching Felix cast a glance to the Out of Order sign.

"Well, not for a little while," Felix assured, returning his gaze forward. "I'm sure we'll get this all solved before it does, so, there's no need to worry."

Ned nodded slightly at this, aiming his sight on the ground. "I-I don't understand why Ted would d-do this...he promised he wouldn't…"

"He was obviously lying." Turbo reminded sharply, his head turning slightly so he could look at the two characters behind him. "He was just being selfish."

"I-I mean I guess...I didn't want you to be mean t-too but...I thought Ted and I could just talk to you and figure it out…"

"That's what makes you and him different, then." Turbo replied sourly. "It fucking figures he wouldn't think about that when making his decision. He was only doing what was best for himself."

"I will admit that it wasn't the best decision," Felix spoke up, receiving a sarcastic scoff from Turbo. "But, there wasn't much either of you could do about it at the time."

"Why are you bothering to defend him?" Turbo hissed, returning his gaze towards the nearing exit.

"I'm sure there must be a more logical reason for Ted to act the way he's been acting," Felix responded, though he sighed as Turbo relinquished not an ounce of belief.

"Why can't the reason be that he's just fucking selfish?" Turbo retorted icily. "MAYBE there would have been a 'logical' reason if he hadn't lied about trying to protect Ned. It makes no sense, why would he say that then lie, fight, and lash out at him?"

Felix folded his hands in front of himself, his gaze growing sympathetic. "Sometimes people make irrational decisions when they're overcome with emotions they don't understand...surely you understand that?"

"Mine is different." Turbo snapped. "Sure, I thought at first that it was my fault, but now I know it's not, it's HIS. I was programmed to be like this, even before he decided to fuck it up. Besides, HE wasn't coded this way, he's just doing it because he can."

"Well…" Felix started hesitantly, glancing at Ned for a moment. "What I'm trying to say is that Ted may not be doing this just because he can, he might be dealing with something that's causing him to think irrationally," He tried to reason. "Yes, he may not be coded to do these things, but—"

"He's only putting this on himself." Turbo argued. "If he wasn't so fucking selfish and didn't do this in the first place then we wouldn't be out of order. And—I don't care if he tried to 'apologize'," The racer made air quotes upon stating so. "Him saying sorry doesn't make up for all this shit he's done."

Ned, who remained silent during this, tried to add his opinion as quietly as possible. "I...I don't know who to b-believe…I-I didn't want him to do this but he did it anyway...he must have b-been thinking clearly when he first suggested it...?"

Turbo gave a small nod. "Exactly."

Felix slowly closed his mouth from when he was going to speak, his brows furrowing as he returned his sight forward. "I suppose…" He murmured, trying desperately to think of a way that would explain why Ted wasn't fully to blame. And, to his dismay, it was becoming increasingly difficult.

If what the brothers were saying was true, then it truly was Teds fault. The handyman couldn't argue against the idea that Ted had been functioning normally upon making the decision to alter Turbo's code. So, if this was a fact, then everything that drove the twin to act irrationally was all his own responsibility.

Though, Felix continued to try and hold the hope that Ted hadn't done anything he was currently being accused of.


	14. Chapter 14 - Roadblocks Aren't Enjoyable

Chapter 14 - Roadblocks Are Never Enjoyable

* * *

Turbo's gaze flicked back at Felix and Ned again as the entrance was now right in front of him. "Ted can—" His voice was broken off as his body jolted back, pain meeting him as if he had just run into a wall he couldn't see. Stumbling slightly, Turbo's surprised expression returned towards the exit. "What the hell..?"

Felix and Ned had also winced at this occurrence, Ned now taking a few strides in Turbo's direction. "W-what happened—are you okay…?"

Turbo took a small step forward, reaching his hand out. His eyes widened as his fingers pressed on an invisible surface, the tips of them glowing red against the clear force. "What—what is this?!"

Felix cast a wary glance to Ned before heading up to Turbo, passing the shorter racer's location and standing in front of him. "Try walking forward?" He suggested hesitantly.

Upon taking a single step, Turbo flinched as he was stopped once more by this indiscernible wall, a small glitch shuddering through his body. Where he had touched the wall flickered red before fading away into nothing, and the trio's gazes all gaped at the sight of it.

Ned, who drew in a shaking breath, followed in Felix's footsteps and was now, too, on the other side of the exit. He reached his own hand out to Turbo, his brows furrowing as Turbo's grasp was unable to connect with his. It was inches away from Ned's outstretched hold, the red light shimmering against Turbo's fingers in a blockade.

Turbo blinked widening eyes, immense confusion etching on his features. He took a step back, fixedly staring across the span of the exit. Ned bit his lip at this, heading over the invisible line that Turbo couldn't seem to cross. He held his hand out again, taking Turbo's own and pulling the shorter racer forward. Though, as the twin continued, his body jolted backwards as Turbo struck the invisible passage.

At this, Turbo ripped his hand away, withdrawing quickly. "What the fuck?! What is this?!" He exclaimed, his gaze narrowing as he took a sharp step forward and slammed his shoulder against the force. Despite this, he was still hindered of escape, the action only causing a sharp pain in his shoulder. His body once more shuddered in a glitch, binary lacing his figure before it faded.

Felix's and Ned's sight followed Turbo, one gaze completely confused and the other gaze a bit more than mildly panicked. "Y-you can't leave the game..?!" Ned rasped out, his voice filled with a growing anxiety. "Why..?!"

"I don't know!" Turbo retorted in frustration, trying desperately to get through by ramming it with his shoulder again. "Ted probably fucking did this!" He added upon drawing back, rubbing his shoulder in pain.

"I've never seen this before—why wouldn't you be able to leave..?" Felix murmured, his attention directing back towards Turbo. Though, he blinked and put a hand up to his mouth in thought as a small glitch flickered through the racer's torso. "Maybe it's because you don't have a solidified form...and the game thinks it would be unsafe for you to leave?"

"I don't fucking know!" Turbo snapped, anger and further frustration burning in his eyes. "I was able to get in here earlier!"

"W-well, that was last night...before it got really bad earlier today..." Ned began. "I-I guess glitches can't leave their game.." He whispered, flinching as Turbo's glower flicked to him.

"What did you just call me?!"

Ned's eyes widened, his voice breaking slightly in panic. "I-I didn't mean—"

"Great, now I have some sort of fucking disability!" Turbo broke in, his tone icy and accusing. "I'm just an error, a hindrance to the game, a fucking glitch."

"Now Turbo, you have to calm down," Felix urged, holding his hands up in a placating manner. "Ned surely didn't mean it as an insult."

"Whatever." Turbo growled in response, his gaze shifting from Felix to the wall that none of them could see. Reaching out again, the racer's eyes narrowed as the red light appeared where he was making contact, a light glitch shivering through his hand. Drawing in a sudden breath through his nose, Turbo drew back and tried ramming the wall again with a cry of anger, his shoulder bouncing off of the force and causing him to recoil. "Ted—this is all your fucking fault!"

"Turbo—please, try and relax..!" Felix urged, wincing as Turbo made a fourth futile attempt at escape. "You're only going to hurt yourself..!"

"I don't fucking care!" Turbo snarled out. "I'm not going to be stuck in this game forever!"

"W-we don't...we don't h-have forever…!" Ned gasped out, his eyes widening in realization. "I—if we get unplugged...y-you can't leave!" His voice wavered at this, tears immediately springing into his eyes at the very thought.

Turbo, too, seemed shocked, his movements ceasing. "What." He started, his voice surprisingly flat, yet frigid. "Fuck—FUCK! No! I'm not fucking dying with this game!"

"Y-you're...you're going to b-be gone...! F-forever…!" Ned cried, his breathing growing a little more rapid. "N-no..! You can't…!"

"Ned, it's alright just calm—"

"It's not like I fucking WANT to die!" Turbo snapped back, his own statement hoarse with anger as he ignored Felix's advances. "I swear to fucking—Ted better tell us where the hell the code room is!"

Felix took a small step forward, his expression filled with concern. "Turbo—"

"I'm going to fucking murder him, at least HE gets to regenerate!" Turbo stated bitterly, now barely hearing Felix at all. "If I fucking die with this game—"

"You're not going to!" Felix interrupted, his voice rising slightly in volume. He let out a sigh as both Ned and Turbo turned to look at him, folding his hands in front of himself. "I'm sorry—I understand this is a very large predicament, but we still have a chance to fix it."

"How the hell are we supposed to fix this?!" Turbo flared. "Ted is the only one who knows where the code room is, and we have NO idea where the fuck he ran off to!"

"Well, we won't have an idea of where it is until we start looking." Felix countered, now stepping past Turbo and heading back into the game. "We have a while before the arcade opens, but we should still try to hurry."

Ned sniffed, hugging himself as a sickened feeling began to wrack his insides. At this, he glanced to Turbo upon looking away from Felix, trying to urge his tears away. "I...I-I'm sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?!" Turbo demanded to know, though he faltered and drew back, his brows furrowing. "Why are you sorry." He repeated, his statement a bit quieter.

"I-I should have stopped Ted, I shouldn't h-have gone to sleep a-and let him—"

"It's not your fault." Turbo growled out, glowering at his hands as binary flickered along them. "You didn't know he was going to do it, it's HIS fault. And when he gets back here," Turbo paused and began to chuckle a little darkly, "He's going to fucking get what's coming to him."

Ned wasn't sure whether he should be scared by the implication or touched that Turbo was trying to comfort him in his own way. "I…"

"C'mon." The shorter racer cut in, taking a stride back with a final glare at the exit of the game. "We don't have all night, so let's find this stupid room."

Ned's gaze followed Turbo's form as it grew further away before he began to follow, staring at the ground as he tried to calm himself. Turbo wouldn't die with the game...right?

To Ned's luck, the only person who would disagree was currently halfway across Game Central Station. Upon fleeing, Ted left the game as quickly as possible, managing to get himself to stop crying before the train had even arrived. Though, it didn't really help what he was feeling inside. What was he even supposed to feel in the first place? He figured guilt, but something else gnawed away at his conscience.

If Turbo died with the game because of his actions, did that mean he was indirectly murdering someone…?

At this thought, an incredible sense of nausea befell on the twin, causing him to stop running. No, he wasn't a murderer, he never wanted to kill anyone, he just...wanted things to get better.

Well, things were far from that now, no matter what he wanted in the first place.

Swallowing thickly as he came to a full stop, Ted quickly glanced around through the sea of characters spanning the station. He didn't recognize a lot of them, which meant they didn't know him, either. That was probably for the best; if they knew what he'd done…

Ted drew in a hoarse breath as his mind continued to wander into areas he didn't want to think about. He didn't want to believe anything that Turbo had said, he didn't want to believe he'd actually done what he'd done, and now he could probably never go back to how things were before. His brothers would never trust him again, they wouldn't act the same towards him, and everything would be different.

It really felt close to death, if he thought about it honestly. Death…

Ted's nausea crept up on him again as he was reminded about the consequences of his actions. If Turbo died…

"Hey, you doing okay there?"

Ted jolted and spun around at the voice that had ripped his thoughts away. His gaze tilted up at the tall figure before him, his eyes widening slightly as he quickly shoved his hands into his pockets to conceal his blood stained knuckles.

Wow, if Ted thought he had a height difference on Turbo, he couldn't imagine Turbo standing next to this guy.

"U-uh…"

The character gazed the twin over, seeming to be analyzing him. "You're from that racing game, right?" He started, turning away from Ted and glancing around the station. "I'm looking for Felix, he said he was going to a racing game."

Ted blinked, taking a small step back. "Y-yeah, I'm from the racing game, you're uh...the villain from Felix's game, right…?"

The character nodded, returning his attention to Ted. "Yep, Ralph, Wreck it Ralph."

"Uh—yeah uh…I'm Ted," Ted replied, drawing another stride back. "I'm from TurboTime."

Ralph didn't seem to notice the signs of Ted's growing anxiety. That, or he wasn't saying anything about it. "Hey, didn't I see you in my game last night?" He brought up after a moment.

Ted flinched internally, trying to get his shoulders to relax. "U-uh no, that was my brother, Ned. He and I are twins."

Ralph nodded again, though he turned to look away. "So Felix is in your game? TurboTime?"

"Uh...uh yeah—but, I don't think we should go get him right now...!" Ted started, trying to hide the panic in his voice.

Ralph blinked, glancing back to the twin with a raised brow. "Why not?"

"Felix is...uh...dealing with something, that's why I uh, left." Ted replied, drawing in a quick breath before attempting to move the conversation in a different direction. "I-I'm sure he'll come back to your game eventually, what do you need him for…?"

"Oh, nothing too important." Ralph began. "Tapper was just holding a party in his game for someone's birthday, and I figured Felix would want to come."

'Characters have birthdays…?' Ted thought, his expression lacing with confusion.

"U-uh…"

Ralph waved his large hand dismissively before Ted could say much of anything, now looking in the direction of Tapper's game. "If you see Felix, just tell him the party started. The Nicelanders are going too, so, it'd make sense for him to be there with us." Turning to depart, Ralph paused and glanced back to Ted. "Oh, you TurboTime guys should come too!"

Ted's nervous gaze flicked to where he could see the entrance of TurboTime, his brows furrowing. "I uh...don't think we'll be able to make it, s-sorry." He stammered out, taking another step back. "I'll tell Felix to uh...go, though."

"Thanks. I'd better get going though, see you around." Ralph stated in farewell, now making his leave towards Tapper's.

Ted visibly relaxed at Ralph no longer being in his presence, but his voice felt like it was caught in his throat as he watched the wrecker leave. "Uh—hey, w-wait..!" He called, jogging a little to catch up.

Ralph's head rotated upon Ted's nearing, prompting him to pause his gait. "What?"

Realizing he hadn't thought this through, Ted faltered. "I just...I wanted to know something, but I probably shouldn't even ask."

This statement piqued Ralph's interest, and he turned to face Ted fully. "What is it? You've seemed a little jumpy, does this have to do with it?"

Ted wanted to laugh nervously, but the thought of merely laughing at the situation only made the twin feel sicker. "I just—need a second opinion." He finally managed to say, intently avoiding eye contact.

Ralph's head tilted slightly at this, one of his brows raising. "Okay, I'm all ears." He replied, casting a glance to Tapper's. "But try and make it quick."

Ted swallowed, though doing so only gave the impression that he was choking on nails. "Okay, so...i-if someone did something, and someone else viewed them differently for it, what should they do…?"

Ralph blinked, thrown off guard by the question. "That's..uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. "...well, if it were me, I'd just try and explain myself."

Ted gazed to the floor, his voice growing eerily quiet. "What if it's too late for that...?"

Ralph gave a small shrug, confused at the implications but willing to help as he could. "They would have to keep trying, and if it still didn't work, they'd have to make it up to the person."

Ted opened his mouth to reply, though he cut himself off as Ralph appeared to be wanting to leave and was too nice to say it. "Okay—thanks.." He murmured, muttering a goodbye as Ralph turned to leave.

"Whatever it is, I hope it works out." Ralph concluded, taking a step back with a smile before heading off towards Tapper's.

Ted watched the wrecker go, his chest only tightening. How could he possibly make it up to Turbo and Ned? It seemed impossible.

It probably was, anyway.

* * *

 _Oh boy, I'd say there are definitely some roadblocks forming on this journey XD_

 _I'd imagine that running into a glitch-proof wall would be akin to walking smack into a closed door (at least, that's how I like to see it)_

 _I hope you guys are still enjoying this! Let me know what you think in the reviews!_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	15. Chapter 15 - Getting What You Deserve

Chapter 15 - Getting What You Deserve

* * *

Ted drew back, removing his hands from his pockets and gazing sickly at his knuckles. They were stained with Turbo's dried blood, and the sight of this prompted Ted to frantically try and rub it away. It took a few moments, but he managed to do so successfully, though this didn't stop him from shoving his hands back into his pockets shortly after.

Ted proceeded to turn his attention on TurboTime's plug in the distance, fultiley attempting to distract his thoughts from wandering. His brows furrowed in consideration at this, and he began to debate whether he should go back to the game. Ralph said he should make it up to them, but Ted couldn't think of a way to do that. He didn't know how to fix Turbo's code; every time he tried he only seemed to mess it up more. There was no way to fix it, and nothing he did would change that.

But, Ted's thoughts tugged on his conscience as the seconds ticked on. They told him to go back, to at least try and do something. But what? It didn't matter what he did, his brothers would still hate him, they'd never trust him, and he deserved it. He knew he'd fucked up, he knew it was on his own accord, he knew he shouldn't have done it.

In addition to this, Ted accepted the fact that he'd hurt them when they didn't deserve it. Physically, and mentally. And, he now accepted the fact that he deserved the same thing.

The only thing Ted couldn't decide on was how to accomplish that. Would he have to hurt himself? Or would Turbo and Ned do it for him? He hoped the second option; it would make his guilt vanish faster. He was tired of the wrenching sensation in his stomach, his mind tearing itself apart.

Maybe he deserved that too.

Now drawing in a shuddering breath, Ted forced himself to begin heading towards the plug. He tried to ignore the passing glances he was receiving, mentally terrified that everyone knew what he'd done—the very notion caused his chest to tie itself into agonizing knots. As the twin neared TurboTime's entrance, his gaze flicked up to the title that spanned above. And, for a moment, his nausea spiked in realization.

In the morning, that screen wouldn't read the name of their game anymore.

Trying to swallow the growing hollow feeling in his throat, Ted returned his sight to the entrance, eyeing the hallway and train in the distance. He proceeded to try and mentally prepare himself, his clenched fists tightening within the confines of his jacket pockets. Whatever he was going to face, he knew he deserved it. But, that wasn't the worst part to him.

The worst part was not knowing what it would be.

To Ted's future relief, Turbo, Ned, and Felix wouldn't be waiting for him as soon as he entered the game. But, to his future distress, they were elsewhere, searching for the code room that none of them could seem to find.

Turbo's glare flicked through the living room for what felt like the hundredth time in the last twenty minutes. He had searched everywhere: along the walls, under the table, behind the couch, he had even scoured along the floor too. And, it was to his further annoyance that none of these places held the door to fixing his problem.

Ned didn't seem to be having much luck, either. He was currently in his and Ted's bedroom, but, he had just entered and was deciding against looking. It wouldn't make sense for the code vault to be here; when he had woken up, Ted had come in through the bedroom door. Drawing back, Ned stepped out of the room. He already checked Turbo's room, and was presently hesitant to go downstairs and tell Turbo he hadn't found anything.

Felix himself was outside, currently nearing the edge of the grass that was underneath the screen. His head craned up, allowing his vision to survey the only view TurboTime had of the outside world. Surely it wouldn't be up there? With a mental statement of disagreement, the handyman drew away, beginning to turn around to head back to the house. Though, he paused as he caught sight of something in his peripheral, his expression shifting to one of distress.

Well, at least they would be able to find the code room now.

Ted's gaze shifted around the game, his eyes dull in panic and his brows furrowing. And, just as he was about to take another step, he noticed Felix on the far side of the game, who of which was now heading towards him. Unsure of whether to be relieved that it was only Felix or anxious that he didn't know where Turbo was, Ted remained still, drawing his hands from his pockets.

Felix was soon in front of the twin, his facial features relaying a sense of tense concern. "Ted—uh…" He began quietly, holding his gloved hands up in a placating gesture and giving a nervous laugh. "I don't think I need to tell you that Turbo won't be very excited to see you."

Ted nodded slowly at this, his focus shifting towards the house. "Where is he…?"

Felix's attention followed Ted's, his lips pursing. "He's, uh, inside with Ned."

"Why aren't you with them…?"

"Well," Felix looked to Ted and took a step back. "We're all working to find the code room—"

"W-what…?!" Ted broke in, the panic in his chest returning.

Felix blinked as he sensed this change before lifting his hands in a calming manner. "We're just trying to fix Turbo, that's all."

Ted stalled at this, unsure of whether Felix was aware who screwed Turbo's code in the first place. Though, before the twin could argue with himself, his mind immediately tried to relay a sense of confusion. "What's wrong with him—"

"Now Ted," Felix interrupted with a sigh, his expression growing a little more serious. "Turbo and Ned told me about what's been happening. Is it true..? Did you do this…?"

Ted's sickness immediately returned at this inquiry, his eyes widening slightly. Like seconds before, he stalled, which only answered Felix's question.

Felix, in turn, let out a sigh through his nose, his gaze almost...disappointed? A little scared? "Ted, I'm sorry you've been feeling the way you have, but...I can't do much for you. It's your responsibility to face Turbo and Ned on the subject."

Ted's stomach twisted in light of this, his posture growing tense. "I-I know...but what if they—"

"We don't know what's going to happen, and we don't have too much time to walk around it." Felix broke in again, his voice now ringing with disappointment too. "We need to resolve this, find the code room, and fix Turbo."

Ted slowly closed his mouth, his vision trailing to the house. Whatever was going to happen, he deserved it.

Turbo's attention flicked up as he heard the door leading to the garage open. He drew away from where he had been searching along the wall that was near the back of the couch, already sick and tired of looking there for the tenth time. Though, he blinked upon turning, his vexation stalling. It took a moment, but his emotions began to process again, a small glitch shuddering through his body at the sudden, intense feeling that had formed. "You." He hissed, his gaze burning.

Ted had already made eye contact with Turbo at this point, a spiking sensation of fear wracking his stomach. The twin was behind Felix, but due to his height, he wasn't exactly safe from Turbo's glare. It was with this that he was at a loss for words, his hands drawing up slightly. "I—"

"What right do you have…" Turbo began darkly, now heading towards them. "What fucking right do you HAVE?!"

Ned nearly tripped down the stairs upon hearing the beginning of the confrontation, stopping abruptly as he reached the bottom of the steps. His gaze locked with Ted's, flashing with pain and anger. He didn't have time to say anything though, as Turbo had no intentions of ceasing.

"What kind of sick fucking mind do you have, huh?!" Turbo continued, stalking closer. "You really thought—you really fucking thought that fucking up my code was just something you could do?!"

Ted's terrified stare wavered slightly, though it never broke away from Turbo's livid glower. "I was—"

"Because of you being the biggest fucking idiot on the planet, we're getting unplugged!" Turbo broke in, another glitch of binary lacing his figure. "I can't even fucking LEAVE THE GAME! When we get unplugged I'm going to fucking die!"

At this, Ted's expression shifted in confusion, the twin unaware of this information. "W-what—?!"

Felix drew away, now not willing to shelter Ted from Turbo's fury. And, upon this occurrence, Turbo grew closer. "You even had the fucking audacity to blame ME for all of this?!"

"I'm s-sorr—"

"You can fucking shove your apologies up your ass!" Turbo snarled, his enraged voice beginning to grow broken from the amount of emotion it held. "What right do you have to fucking try and KILL ME?! And—don't get me fucking started on what you did to Ned!"

Ted knew he couldn't argue against anything Turbo was saying; he was fully aware of the truth in the shorter racer's statements. Though, in his panic, he began to try and defend himself. "I-I was trying to fix—"

"Fix what?!" Turbo retorted icily. "Fix the fact that I had no control over what I was doing?! How does threatening to MURDER ME while knowing I wouldn't regenerate fix anything?!"

Ned's gaze flicked between his brothers, his throat tightened in both anger and the unwillingness to speak. Though, he decided he had something to say too, now forcing himself to interject. "Ted…" He began, earning the other twin's attention. "If you think that we're going to just...forgive you, then...you're wrong." He informed with gradually growing confidence. "I don't...I don't want to talk to you—or look at you, or be around you anymore. The only time I'll do any of those things is when the arcade is open."

Ted flinched at this, having little time to react as Turbo was quick to start again. "You'd better fix my fucking code," Turbo warned, suddenly advancing. He took a rapid step forward and leaned his weight into the motion, his already clenched fist aiming towards Ted's stomach.

Ted gasped and quickly reached out, trying to grab Turbo's shoulders to keep from being hit. But, he was unable to react as quickly as Turbo was moving, pain flaring into his stomach as he was struck. And, as Ted coughed and bent over slightly from the abrupt contact, Turbo slammed his foot into the side of the twin's right knee, shoving the taller racer's body in the same direction. This action caused Ted's knee to buckle, prompting him to trip sideways onto the floor.

Felix's gaped at this and he took a quick step forward, holding his hands up. "Turbo—"

"This asshole is going to get what he deserves." Turbo growled, his blazing glare returning to Ted. "You'd better fix my fucking code," He started to repeat, though his tone darkened as he continued. "But first, I get to kill you."

Ted's terrified stare turned to Turbo as he managed to recuperate, the twin now leaning on his back with his elbows holding him up. He knew he'd regenerate if Turbo was being serious, but…

Not waiting for Felix or Ted to respond, Turbo lunged forward, kicking out at Ted's side. Ned flinched at Ted's subsequent cry of pain, his conscience telling him to try and stop the fight from starting.

But—why…?

Ted deserved this.

At this thought, Ned remained still, his widened gaze following Turbo as the shorter racer kicked Ted again.

Felix, however, did not think the same. "Turbo, stop! This is just wasting time—we need to find the code room…!"

Turbo's glare flicked from Ted to Felix, his eyes narrowing. "I'm just supposed to let him fucking ruin our lives and get away with it?!"

"We might be able to solve this before the arcade opens," Felix replied, trying to remain calm. "And hurting Ted won't fix anything."

"It'll fix his fucking mind!" Turbo retorted, his glower turning to Ned now. "I don't see you stopping me, you think he deserves it too." He hissed. At this, Ned swallowed, his brows furrowing as he hugged himself. And, he refused to respond, only confirming Turbo's suspicions.

Turbo's expression shifted slightly at this realization, a small smile tugging at his lips. "See? Even NED thinks Ted's getting what's coming to him." He snidely remarked, returning his gaze to Felix. "You can just heal him when I'm done."

Amidst the conversation, Ted had managed to lift himself a bit, his lower half still curled on the floor and his upper half held up by his elbows. His head was dipped slightly, his body struggling to breathe from when Turbo had been kicking him. Though, with a pained cough, he raised his head as he sensed that someone was looking at him.

While Turbo and Felix were still conversing, Ned was staring at Ted with wide eyes. Though, his gaze wasn't bright with fear, it was dull with anger and guilt. Maybe even a bit of spite? Presently, Ted would have been confused at the emotions Ned was relaying, as it didn't seem fitting for the twin, but he knew that Ned's feelings were justified considering everything he'd done to them. He wanted to say sorry, but knew it was pointless as Ned had already told him they wouldn't forgive him.

"Felix, I know you're always trying to fucking fix things." Turbo said, gesturing to Ted as he continued, "But this fuck up deserves to hurt as much as we have."

"I understand why you're thinking like this," Felix began to reply, glancing to Ted before returning his attention to Turbo. "But, we still need to fix your glitch, and we're going to run out of time if we keep going on like this."

Turbo's eyes narrowed, the smile on his face only growing venomous. "Don't worry, this won't take long." He assured icily, his gaze flicking back to Ted.

It was with this that Turbo took a sharp step forward and slammed his foot against Ted's face, which had still been turned in Ned's direction. Both Ned and Felix flinched as the twin's head swung downwards from the impact, blood splattering on the floor from his nose. Following this moment, Ted half hissed and half cried out, feeling tears come to his eyes as his body reacted to the pain inflicted.

"You're not going to fight back?" Turbo taunted, lunging forward and kicking Ted in the ribs, an easy target as Ted had been partially holding himself up. At this, Ted coughed out, his arms giving way and leaving him curled up on the floor once more. "Do you actually feel bad for fucking everything up, you piece of shit?"

Ted choked out a 'yes', holding the top of his hand against his nose. Regardless, Turbo felt not an ounce of sympathy, only striking Ted's face with his foot again. "Well you should have fucking thought about that before you did all of this!" He retorted coldly, his gaze narrowed with lacking pity.

Ted could feel an agonizing nausea in his stomach, which was only worsened by the ensuing kick it endured. Pain flared through his abdomen, leaving him raggedly breathing and coughing. Ned's widened gaze flinched at each of Ted's rasping breaths, and he hugged himself tighter, willing his conscience away to keep from helping.

Turbo, in turn, wasted no time to clutch Ted's collar to hold the twin up a little; he had no fear of doing so, aware that Ted wouldn't put in any effort to retaliate. "Still feel guilty?" He questioned sharply, a smile creeping onto his features as his head was level with Ted's. "Or do you need more?"

Ted sniffed and kept his silence, wincing as he could feel blood running down the back of his throat. And, upon his lack of reply, Turbo drew back a clenched fist, his gaze narrowing. "Fine, I was going to fucking do it anyway."

As Turbo struck Ted across the face, Ned glanced to Felix in his peripheral, sensing the handyman's growing anxiety. "I-I think Ted wants him to do it…" Ned whispered, his brows furrowing at the shake of Felix's head.

"It's not right—I'm not letting him do this anymore." Felix replied matter-of-factly, now taking a step forward. "Turbo, that's enough, he gets the point."

"Yeah fucking right," Turbo retorted, not breaking his sight from Ted's. "He didn't tell me to stop."

"I'm telling you to." Felix responded, pulling his hammer from his toolbelt. "We can't waste time needlessly fighting, we need to get you fixed."

"I feel pretty good right now, actually." Turbo countered with a smile, drawing his fist up again. Though, before he could do much of anything, Felix grabbed ahold of his arm and gently pulled it back.

"Turbo, I understand that taking your anger out on Ted feels rewarding," Felix began to state, his gaze unwavering as Turbo's glanced to him. "But we need to solve this problem before the arcade opens. And, help you find a way to release your anger that doesn't involve harming Ted."

Turbo gave a slight roll of his eyes, his glower flicking back to Ted. "What's wrong with hitting him?"

Felix sighed lightly, now drawing back. "It won't be good for any of you. If you want things to go back to the way they were—"

"Like hell things are ever going to go back to normal!" Turbo broke in, seeming incredulous. "This fucktard made sure of that."

"Turbo," Felix began, his tone not quite pleading but still slightly wistful. "Let's just figure out how to fix your code and try and work things out from there."

With narrowing eyes, Turbo gave a side glance to Ned, whom of which was beginning to look increasingly nervous. At this, the shorter racer sighed through his nose and glowered back to Ted, releasing the twin's collar from his hold. "Fine."

Felix quickly knelt to Ted's level as the twin hit the floor, reaching his hammer out. "Okay, just hold still, I'll fix it." He assured, ignoring Turbo's mild scoff in the process.

Now stepping back, Turbo looked to Ned, the fire in his eyes dulling. "Thanks for not breaking it up."

Ned blinked in surprise, not expecting Turbo to ever be thanking him for anything. "U-uh...yeah…" Was all he could manage, though Turbo didn't seem to mind.

Moments later, both brother's attentions shifted to Ted as they noticed him beginning to stand, his injuries having been healed. The anger in Turbo's eyes returned, as did the slight enmity in Ned's, while Ted himself refused to look at either of them with tensed shoulders.

"Alright," Felix began, slipping his hammer back into his toolbelt and looking to the twin beside him. "Ted, you know where the code room is?"

"Yes…" Ted breathed, starting to head towards the garage door. Turbo's glare followed the twin, mentally cursing himself as he'd spent the whole time looking in the living room when the code room wasn't even inside the house. Whatever. That didn't matter. At least they were going to find it now.

* * *

 _How to make a short person fight a tall person is the real question XD_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	16. Chapter 16 - Tension Causes Breakage

_Oh boy this is one of my favorite chapters, as are the next few -w-_

* * *

Chapter 16 - Tension Causes Breakage

* * *

Eventually, everyone had filed outside and was currently walking in the direction of the podium. Felix's brows furrowed in confusion as he'd sworn he'd checked there earlier, his gaze flicking to Ted at this. Ned and Turbo, who were near the back of the line, also looked to the podium with uncertainty, wondering how the code room could have been there and they'd never noticed it before.

Upon reaching the back of the tiered platform, Ted grasped for the handle that was seemingly invisible, blended in with the black and textureless surface. As he pulled the door open, the trio behind him blinked widened eyes in shock, surprised not only by the presence of the code room itself, but also by what the inside looked like. Ted glanced to the others in light of this, drawing back to allow them to enter.

Turbo, after mildly shoving Ted aside as he passed, headed down the stairs, eyeing the pulsing, wire ridden walls as he did so. As it had done with Ted during his first entry, the flashing blue wires filled Turbo with a sense of uncomfortableness, leaving him feeling like he was intruding on something that was alive. Despite this, Turbo's gaze narrowed and he quickly made his way to the bottom of the steps.

Ned, who resumed hugging himself, tensed his posture as he followed Turbo with a growing impression of discomfort. He, too, felt as though he was invading something he shouldn't. After all, why would game characters have a reason to enter the room? It was really only for the programmers, their creators. Maybe that was why Ted's efforts at 'fixing' everything simply ended in disaster.

Ted trailed after Felix as the handyman left the grass and stepped onto the metal steps, a constricted feeling entering the twin's chest. He was unsure as to whether Turbo's code had devolved, though he held onto the hope that it was relatively the same considering Turbo's consistent attitude. He tried to keep track of what he had altered in the first place, but the task was growing increasingly difficult.

A thought met Ted as he watched Turbo mull over the door and keypad that was blocking their access. Taking a small step to near Felix, Ted spoke up quietly. "Do...do you think you can fix his code with your hammer…?"

Felix breathed out a small 'hmm', glancing to the tool in question. "Well, unfortunately, I highly doubt it. But, I can always try."

Silence reigned for a moment, but Ted didn't have a chance to reply as Turbo entered the conversation. "Ted, stop wasting time and unlock this." He snapped, drawing back to allow the twin to do so.

Ned glanced to Ted as the taller racer passed, his brows furrowing as he could sense the waves of anxiety coming from his brother. This prompted Ned to grow indecisive of whether he should feel remorse, though he said nothing about the topic and watched with slight curiosity as Ted input a code that, for some reason, he recognized.

Turbo seemed to feel the same recognition upon witnessing Ted unlocking the door, but he pushed his confusion aside as he watched the door open. His first thought upon seeing the code within was only a statement of further confusion, unsure of what he was looking at. And, as he began to take a step out, he yelped as Ted grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Hey—!"

"There's no gravity in there," Ted informed hesitantly, turning to retrieve the rope in the small compartment to the side. "You have to tether yourself to the wires with this or have one of us hold it." He added, now handing Turbo the twine.

Turbo gazed to the rope with mild annoyance, though he didn't tie it around himself. "I can't just go in there by myself, I'll have no idea what the hell I'm looking at." He retorted coldly.

Ted appeared to think for a moment, having not considered this before. "I'm not sure how to get two people in there—"

"Felix," Turbo broke in, holding the rope out towards the handyman. "Can you use your hammer to make it longer?"

Felix blinked at the sudden request, looking uncertain. "It really only fixes things," He began ambivalently. "I don't know if it enhances them."

"Just try it." Turbo countered impatiently, allowing Felix to take the tether from him as he held it out further.

With a raised eyebrow, Felix pulled his hammer from his belt and tapped on the rope. Though, the group was disappointed as the action only seemed to make the twine stronger in quality. At this, Felix returned the rope to a vexed Turbo, trying to think. "Maybe it'll still be long enough when you tie someone to one end and someone to the other, and we hold it in the middle?"

"We wouldn't be able to go out as far if we did that.." Ned spoke up, though Turbo proceeded to dismiss it.

"It doesn't matter, we're going to have to do that." The shorter racer concluded, shoving one end of the rope into Ted's unprepared grasp and mildly hitting the twin in the stomach as he did so.

Ted momentarily winced and fumbled with the twine, gazing to Turbo with widened eyes. "You and me are going out there?"

"Well who the hell else do you think is going to go with me." Turbo remarked, further annoyance flaring in his eyes.

Ted's brows furrowed as he glanced back to the rope before he proceeded to tie it around himself, Turbo now doing the same. At this, Felix reached down to pick up the center of the rope, handing part of it to Ned so the two of them could be sure they wouldn't let go. And, with an irritated sigh, Turbo glared to the entrance of the code room. "Let's see how badly you fucked up."

It took Turbo a moment to grow used to the feeling of weightlessness, his arms waving out at his sides to retain his balance. Ted made sure to stay near him until he was accustomed, eyeing the shorter racer warily. "Oh, uh…" He began, earning Turbo's attention. "When you're in the code room...you can't stay for too long, it makes you lightheaded and sick."

"Great." Turbo hissed, glowering back to the code spanning before them. "Then let's get this over with."

Ted began to move forward first, glancing behind himself to confirm that Turbo was following behind. Though, as the seconds spanned, further fear entered Ted as he caught sight of the code they were looking for. While it didn't look too much worse than when he left, it didn't help the situation grow any less bleak.

However, the twin didn't expect a sudden tugging sensation on his abdomen, signifying that their rope didn't have the capacity to go any further. Turbo was still a few strides behind, leaving his rope somewhat slack, but he knew that he wouldn't get any more distance than Ted had.

Felix and Ned tightened their holds on the rope as Ted's weight pulled them forward, now tugging in the opposite direction to keep from letting go. "There's none left!" Felix called into the darkness.

"Fucking perfect." Turbo growled out, glaring daggers at the twin in his vicinity. "Where is it."

Ted glanced back forward, pointing towards the code that was tantalizingly close, and yet so far. But, due to its distance, Turbo still gained a general idea of its condition. He could see the glitching binary, the sparking wires, the shattered boxes. His gaze glowed with resentment and bitterness at this, his scowl flicking back to Ted. "How the hell do you fuck up THAT bad?!"

"I—I didn't mean to…!" Ted replied quickly, shaking his head as a wave of lightheadedness washed over him. "I was trying—"

"I don't care what you were trying to do!" Turbo snapped back, feeling the same sensation of nausea. "How do you expect us to fix this?!"

"I don't know…! I don't know how to fix it—I tried to but it only made it worse…!"

"You shouldn't have fucking done it in the first place!" Turbo flared, a glitch shuddering through his body in correspondence with his growing anger. Ted's attention jolted to Turbo's code at this, his eyes widening as one of the cracked boxes shivered and began to break apart.

Turbo, too, noticed this, his icy stare narrowing. "How long until my code is nothing but broken boxes and free binary?" He began, his hatred-filled glower returning to Ted. "How long until I fucking fall apart?!"

Ted was silent, his thoughts beginning to catch up to him. Had all of this really happened? Had everything gone downhill in a mere couple of days? It didn't seem real, the idea that things had gone this way. It all started with a fight, an unnecessary fight that wasn't even Turbo's fault. Then, both he and Ned overreacted, only securing the path that had been taken.

If their programmers hadn't coded Turbo this way, then there wouldn't have been a fight. If there hadn't been a fight, then Ned wouldn't have overreacted and Ted wouldn't have felt the sense of protectiveness that led him to changing Turbo's code. If Turbo's code hadn't been changed, they wouldn't be getting unplugged, Turbo wouldn't be condemned from leaving the game, and both Turbo and Ned wouldn't hate his guts. Ted didn't blame their programmers though, surely Turbo had been coded to hate them for a reason. It was with this fact that Ted accepted it was truly his fault.

Realizing that he hadn't replied, Ted forced himself to speak. "I-I don't know, I'm sorry…" He breathed, though, as before, Turbo wasn't too keen on accepting his apology.

"You can be sorry all you fucking want." Turbo snarled, his vision beginning to waver lightly and a small glitch flickering along his torso. "If I die with this game, then you'd better believe you're going to get what you fucking deserve."

Ted swallowed thickly, his throat constricting. If Turbo died with the game—well…Ted wouldn't exactly want to live anymore either. Was that selfish to Ned, though? "F-Felix can try fixing it with his hammer..!" He stammered out after a moment.

Turbo opened his mouth to reply, though he paused in consideration. "Fine. He'll have to come in here by himself."

Ted slowly nodded in agreement, drawing away and beginning to head towards the exit with Turbo following behind. Felix and Ned took several steps back as they neared, steadying the two as they grew accustomed to the presence of gravity once more. At this, Turbo gazed up to Felix and started to untie the tether from around himself. "Felix, you're going to go in there and see if you can repair my code with your hammer," Turbo said, now handing Felix the rope.

Felix blinked, looking to the rope in his grasp. "I can surely try," He said, wrapping the cord around his waist and securing it with a knot before handing the other end to Ted. "Just tell me where I need to go."

In light of this, Felix took a few strides toward the door that led into the darkness of the code room. Breathing in a sigh through his nose, the handyman hesitantly leaned out into the void, gasping out a 'woah' as he was soon fully succumbed to the feeling of weightlessness. Quickly steadying himself, Felix glanced back to the others that were in the hallway. "Alright Ted, where am I headed?"

Ted took a small step towards the doorway, peering into the room to survey the area. "His code is near the middle, it's past the boxes that are for the stadium and crowds."

Nodding, Felix adjusted his balance and initiated his travel towards the code in question. With this, Turbo shoved by Ted to get a look, his gaze bright with annoyance and slight worry. If this didn't work, then what would they do?

Well, Turbo knew what he was going to do to Ted if this didn't work, anyway.

Ned, with a glance to both of his brothers, also headed up between them, his arms drawn up to his chest in a nervous gesture. "I...I still think that Litwak will check the game in the morning...he said he would.."

"Yeah, but he probably won't be able to without unplugging it first." Turbo growled back, having already thought about this before.

Ned faltered, his brows furrowing in thought. "Maybe he'll be able to fix you—"

"When we get unplugged, I'm going to die." Turbo replied bluntly, glaring to the twin in his peripheral. He didn't want to sugarcoat anything anymore, getting unplugged was very likely and it would be better if Ned accepted it. "If he even did plug the game back in, it would probably reset."

Ned winced slightly, as did his twin. "Maybe—maybe you won't die...maybe it'll just be like sleeping...and if you get plugged back in you'll wake up…?" Ned proposed quietly, though Turbo didn't appear to agree.

"Felix said that if a game is unplugged, everything will disappear, including its characters." Turbo retorted, returning his gaze towards the code room. "He said it's happened before."

"But...he didn't say what would happen if a game got plugged back in," Ned replied, earning a bit more of Turbo's attention. "Maybe—"

"Ned, just listen." Turbo interrupted, his voice sharpened with annoyance and inner fear. "We're getting unplugged in the morning, and we're not getting plugged back in. I can't leave the game, but you two can."

"I-I don't want to leave if yo—"

"Ned you'd better fucking leave this game if it gets unplugged." Turbo broke in, his glare blazing.

Ned blinked in surprise at this, now unsure of how to reply. He didn't think Turbo cared about him that much, or at all, really. Ted, too, expressed his disbelief, though it wasn't visible due to him being turned away.

Before anyone could say anything, Felix's call from the code room interfered with the conversation, and all three brothers angled their attentions towards the darkness. "Ted, which box do I fix?"

Ted frowned, casting Turbo a wary glance. "Uh—any of them that seem broken..!" He called back.

Felix's brows furrowed as he scanned over the cracked boxes and glitching words before him, most of them not even making sense due to flashing with binary. Nonetheless, he pulled his hammer from his tool belt, eyeing the code. "Alright...let's try this one," He muttered, reaching out and tapping a mildly cleft box.

Turbo suddenly jolted back, a rather intense and painful glitch wracking his body. His ensuing cry of pain startled the twins, both of them promptly facing him with widened eyes. "Turbo..!"

Felix's own gaze widened as the code he'd touched shattered and immediately fled the vicinity, blipping into nonexistence. "Oh my land—"

"Felix, stop! Don't touch anything!" Ted warned in a panic, his posture still tense despite the glitch fading from Turbo's body. "Are you okay?!"

"No I'm not okay!" Turbo snapped back, his labored breathing beginning to ease as the seconds passed.

Ned slowly lowered his arms from where he had been reaching towards Turbo to help, though he still took a step forward. "W-what happened…?!"

"I don't know!" Turbo retorted, his glare flicking to Ted. "What did you do?!"

Ted blinked in bewilderment and raised his hands defensively. "I was right next to you—how could I have done anything?!"

Felix quickly drew away from the wayward binary, his vision centering on the exit of the room. "Is Turbo alright?! The code disappeared when I tried to fix it!"

"No I'm not fucking alright!" Turbo called back icily, though his glower didn't waver from Ted. "How the hell do you expect us to fix this, huh?! Felix can't do it, we can't do it, what do you fucking expect us to do?!"

"I-I don't know!" Ted replied shakily, his previous guilt and fear returning. "I didn't mean for this to hap—"

"Give me a fucking break—I don't care what you meant to do, everything is still going to hell!" Turbo countered, his voice hoarse with hostility. He opened his mouth to continue, though stopped as Felix stumbled into the doorway.

Ned was quick to head over and assist Felix in gaining his balance, glancing to his brothers in the process. "D-don't fight..you guys just keep saying the same things over and over…" He adjured, prompting Turbo to gesture angrily in Ted's direction.

"He keeps trying to apologize!"

Ned slowly let go of Felix, turning to face them. "I-I know but..he knows what he did wrong and we already..we already did what we needed to in defense, I told him what I thought and you uhm...made it more physical but—"

"That was before we found out we couldn't fix it!" Turbo retaliated, a small glitch flickering along his torso. "He doesn't deserve to—"

"Turbo, I...I hate him as much as you do." Ned replied as his gaze briefly looked to Ted, unwavering despite Ted's flinch. "I-I know he did something horrible, and I'm not going to forgive him either...but you can't keep saying the same things over and over.."

Turbo's eyes narrowed slightly and he took a step back. "By morning, I won't be able to say anything at all." He growled out.

Felix had now managed to untie himself, setting the rope onto the floor. "There has to be a way we can fix this." He interjected hopefully, nonetheless earning Turbo's disbelieving scowl. Though, the shorter racer didn't have a chance to speak as Ted spoke up instead.

"You said...you said a game has been unplugged before," He began, looking towards Felix hesitantly. "What happened…?"

Felix frowned at this, letting out a sigh through his nose. "Well...unfortunately, the game in question, Gravitar, was having the same problem as you. Not exactly the same scenario, but a glitch had taken their game over."

Ted's brows furrowed while Turbo and Ned glanced at each other, though Turbo returned his gaze to Felix. "Litwak didn't plug them back in." He deduced, prompting Felix to nod slowly.

"He said he would have fixed it, but…" The handyman's voice tapered off, leaving the implications obvious. "They weren't plugged in for long—this arcade hasn't even been here that long. We're still in our first year."

Anger flared in Turbo's eyes at this, his glare flicking to Ned. "See, what did I tell you? Litwak was lying to make the kid feel better."

Ned had drawn back, his only means of hope now ripped apart. "H-he wasn't lying..!" The twin rasped, a panicked feeling wracking at his chest. "He can f-fix the game—"

"He's not going to!" Turbo broke in, his tone icy and his posture stiffened. He, too, had the same feeling of panic, though he wouldn't be one to admit it. Despite what he'd told Ned minutes before, part of him had held onto the hope that Litwak would fix the game and plug it back in, that maybe he wouldn't really die.

Well, that obviously wasn't true anymore.

"How does it feel..." Turbo started, glaring to Ted in his peripheral. "How does it fucking feel to know you've killed me?!"

An immediate nausea gripped Ted's stomach at the statement, his eyes widening. "I-I didn't mean to—!"

"I don't fucking care if you meant to or not! I'm going to die because of you!" Turbo snarled back, though, he didn't have much of a chance to continue as Ned's sobbing broke in.

"Y-you can't die...!" Ned cried, his breathing rapid in fear. "P-please…!"

"It's not like I WANT to die!" Turbo retorted, his distress prompting a rather intense glitch along his body. While it didn't bring any pain, it did cause his location to mildly shift backwards, much to his and the others' surprise.

At this, Felix took a step in Turbo's direction. "Turbo—try to calm down, there must be a way we can fix this."

"Oh—yeah sure, YOU would DEFINITELY be calm if you knew you were going to fucking die in a matter of hours!" Turbo snapped coldly, glowering back to Ted in light of the statement. "I hope you're fucking happy you piece of shit!"

Guilt wrenched along Ted's chest like a boa constrictor, squeezing tighter and tighter as the seconds passed. "N-no—!"

"Why don't you fuck up your own code, huh?!" Turbo interrupted in retaliation, not giving Felix a chance to interject as he continued to speak. "Then you'll see what it's like—"

"Turbo, stop! This isn't going to fix anything!" Felix finally managed to say, earning the three racers' attentions.

"It doesn't matter what I do, I'm going to die anyway." Turbo growled back, his brows furrowing as Ned weakly sobbed beside him.

"Th-this is really happening…!" The twin breathed, choking out another sob as his realization sunk in. But, the others didn't expect him to suddenly glare to Ted, his posture tensing. "I hate you!" He shouted raggedly, his voice dripping with spite. "This is your fault—I hate you!"

Ted blinked widening eyes, though he didn't get the opportunity to reply as Ned continued. "I told you not to do this!" The twin started, taking sharp step forward and shoving Ted by his shoulders against the wired wall. "But you didn't listen, and now Turbo's going to die!"

Ted winced, unprepared to be pushed, his chest constricting further as he stepped away from the wall. "I—!"

"You know what I think?!" Ned broke in, his still teary gaze blazing with hatred, "You deserve to die too! Why do YOU get to live when he doesn't?!"

Ted may as well have been stabbed in the stomach. Even Turbo's eyes widened in shock; sure, he'd expected himself to say something like that, but he definitely didn't expect it to come from Ned of all people.

"I'm sick of this—I hope I never see you again!" Ned persisted further, his rage slowly blinding him. He really was fed up; he hated how Ted had the audacity to hurt Turbo in the countless ways he'd done, and now that the only solution Ned had hoped for wasn't real, well… He proceeded to shove Ted back against the wall for a second time before towering over him. "Just do us a favor and kill yourself!"

Pained and startled tears immediately formed in Ted's eyes, his breathing growing rapid. "Fine—I will!" He shouted back brokenly, he himself now pushing Ned away and bolting for the exit.

Ned couldn't hear what Felix said afterwards, his gaze locked on where Ted had disappeared. He didn't care anymore. There was nothing they could do, and like Turbo had said, it didn't matter what they did. It was all going to crumble in the end anyway.

* * *

 _OH BOY_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	17. Chapter 17 - Are You Afraid of Heights?

Chapter 17 - Are You Afraid of Heights?

* * *

Turbo stared up at Ned, still surprised by the encounter that had taken place. He'd never have guessed the twin would snap like that—not that he thought Ned didn't have every right to. If anything, Turbo wholeheartedly agreed, it was what Ted deserved. Though, Felix definitely wasn't on the same page as them.

"Ned—why would you say that?!" The handyman exclaimed, now earning Ned's attention.

"I'm sick of him!" Ned began hoarsely. "He hurt Turbo so badly, and now Turbo's g-going to die…!" The twin's voice slowly began to waver to its familiar panic, he, too, processing everything that had happened. "Th-there's nothing we can do…!"

"There has to be something, and that definitely wasn't it!" Felix countered as he gestured in the direction that Ted had left in.

"I-it doesn't matter!" Ned replied, ignoring Felix's reasoning. "We're going to get unplugged, and I-I don't want to be stuck homeless with him forever!"

Felix quickly shook his head. "That doesn't mean you can say that, he feels bad for what he did and he's trying to make up for it!"

Now it was Turbo's turn to interrupt, "So that makes it perfectly okay to murder me?!"

"No, but—"

"There isn't a 'but' to this!" Turbo argued, though this didn't stop Felix from treading backwards and heading towards the exit.

"I'm going to find him, I'm not letting this happen," Felix informed, casting the two a final glance before rushing up the stairs.

Turbo's glare followed Felix until he was no longer visible, the handyman's absence prompting Turbo to gaze at Ned. "Do you think Ted's really going to do it?" He questioned, the tone in his voice difficult to place.

Ned slowly hugged himself, his attention centered on the open door of the code room. "I don't know—I...I think so." He responded quietly, seeming like he was thinking about something else rather than his reply.

"Well, good." Turbo answered, he too turning to look at the code room. Though, after a moment, his brows furrowed as an idea struck him. "Maybe we can do it for him?"

Ned blinked, confusion etching itself onto his features as he glanced to the shorter racer. "W-what do you mean?"

"Just think about it, his code is right there." Turbo stated, gesturing towards the code vault.

Ned's eyes widened and he returned his sight to the open door. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, his voice catching in his throat, his posture stiffening. "I…"

"Ned." Turbo began, his inflection conveying a sense of finality. "We both want him gone, why wait? What if he doesn't even do it in the first place?"

"I—I don't know if I meant it.." Ned breathed, though he winced slightly as Turbo scoffed.

"Of course you did, you wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it. You mean everything you say." Turbo retorted, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"But—"

"Ned. Don't back down now, you know what you meant." Turbo pressed, believing it himself. "He deserved it anyway. Like you said, he'd be doing us a favor."

Ned grew silent at this, his throat constricting. He knew it was true. Ted deserved it; an eye for an eye. But—maybe he could have said it differently… Was there any other way to say it? Maybe...maybe he shouldn't have. Ted was his brother—but...so was Turbo. Ned blinked as this thought crossed his mind, his head lifting slightly. If Turbo had done any of this to Ted...would he tell Turbo to kill himself?

Probably not. Turbo was programmed to be cruel, as much as Ned wanted to deny it. And he knew that Turbo hated it; his breakdown was plenty evidence of that. But Ted? Well, like they'd said before, Ted wasn't programmed to do any of this. So it was all his own fault. It didn't matter if he felt bad or not, he still did it anyway. He knew he was hurting Turbo, he knew what he was doing, and that's what made it horrible. It was sickening, really.

With a reluctant sigh, Ned nodded in agreement. "Yeah...you're right. It j-just…" The twin trailed off, tears suddenly meeting his vision. "I-I just can't believe you're...!" He could barely finish his sentence as a sob of realization wracked his body. "I-I don't want you to die…!"

Turbo was taken aback, his eyes widening. The familiar feeling of panic returned, a reminder of how little time he had left. He didn't know what to say, but he forced himself to speak as Ned only collapsed inwards and sobbed harder. "Hey—I know, I obviously don't want to die either." He tried to comfort, though doing so was definitely not his strong suit.

As Ned gave no sign of acknowledgement, Turbo drew in a small breath, taking a step in the twin's direction. He proceeded to wrap his arms around Ned in a hug, attempting to do so to the best of his abilities. His height made it a little difficult, but he tried nonetheless.

Ned stiffened immediately. His eyes widened as he processed what was happening, but this didn't stop him from returning the gesture. He allowed his head to rest on Turbo's helmet, his body beginning to shudder as he realized that, soon, he wouldn't be able to do this anymore. This thought caused him to hug Turbo tighter, a sob escaping through his grit teeth.

Turbo remained silent through it all. He did so for a few reasons, though. He knew that, eventually, Ned would calm down, and it wasn't like he could say much to help. It was the physical reassurance that counted. With that, he was also lost in thought. A deep hatred for Ted laced his mind, the thoughts getting darker as the seconds passed. And, Ned's broken sobbing caused the hatred to grow; it solidified a thought that was running through his mind.

He couldn't wait to fuck up Ted's code.

Ned's tensed posture only worsened as he, too, grew lost in thought. Soon, he'd be all alone in Game Central Station, with neither of his brothers there like they should have been. Though, in retrospect, he didn't want Ted there, not at all. Ned wouldn't be able to live knowing that his own twin was a murderer. Knowing that, at one point, he trusted Ted more than anything, and yet here they were.

"I-I'm sorry..! I'm so sorry…!" Ned rasped out. But, it wasn't an apology of his own guilt; it was an apology of pity and condolence. He couldn't imagine how Turbo felt, aware that soon he would be gone. Forever.

Turbo continued his silence, resting his own head against Ned's chest. He could feel the warmth coming from the twin, the panic, but also a sense of life, a realization. The shorter racer blinked, his brows furrowing as he drew in a breath. It was surprisingly shaky, much to his annoyance, but he also allowed himself to accept it. It didn't matter what happened anymore. He allowed the burning tears in the edge of his eyes grow worse, he allowed the searing lump in his throat to form, and he allowed his bottom lip to quiver. It didn't matter anymore.

Ned's head lifted slightly as he felt Turbo's shoulders shudder and his small form tense up. A light glitch littered Turbo's torso at that, though it was too weak to pass onto the twin; it almost seemed as helpless as Turbo felt. And, it wasn't until a weak sob came from Turbo that Ned hugged him tighter, similar to how he'd done the last time Turbo had cried. "I...I'm so sorry…" He breathed, forcing his own fear to cease so he could help Turbo instead.

Seconds passed with what seemed to be no advances in Turbo's panic. But, it was to Ned's dismay that Turbo suddenly crumpled forward into his hold, rasping and sobbing out frantic curses of dread. His voice sounded so broken and defeated that it made Ned's heart ache, but the twin continued to push his own feelings aside and instead only murmured comforting words. He didn't know if he believed them...but it didn't matter.

This sense of terror was imbrued into Turbo for several minutes, though as time ticked on, he grew quieter, weaker, and increasingly craven. Small glitches would flicker along his body in his distress, and Ned could feel the exhaustion in his breaths. "It's okay…" Ned breathed, closing his eyes and resting his chin on Turbo's helmet as the shorter racer shook his head.

"No it's not! I-I'm going to fucking die—it's all T-Ted's fault…!" Turbo retorted in a panic, though his voice was laced with an acute anger.

"I...I know...we can deal with it...it's okay…" Ned replied gently, softly. Though, his tone held an inkling of eerie iciness, but it wasn't directed at Turbo in the least. Experiencing Turbo's terror had quickly changed the twin's mind about it all. As he stared past Turbo to the blue-laced wires of the wall, his gaze darkened, any remaining tears he'd had now falling to make way for his anger.

Ted really did deserve to die for what he did.

An eye for an eye, right?

Well, at least for them, the only person who'd disagree was gone.

By now, Felix had already made an attempt at searching through the house, his thoughts growing increasingly concerned and mildly frantic. How did it all come to this? There had to be a way that Ted wasn't in the wrong. There HAD to be a way he could fix this. And what Ned had said was definitely not the answer.

Fruitless calling of Ted's name gave Felix no reply, so he opted to leave the game instead. But, further dread laced its way into his thoughts as the monorail left the station. Ted could be anywhere by now, how in code's name would the twin even try to…

Felix shook his head, his fingers fiddling with his hammer absentmindedly. It wouldn't come to that, surely it wouldn't.

Briskly hopping from the train as it arrived at Game Central station, Felix headed out of the plug and into the bustling atmosphere that was the hub of the arcade. He briefly considered looking for Ted on his own, but eventually resolved to ask around and find out if anyone had seen the twin. And, to his slight hopefulness, a few characters seemed to look worried and a tad bit confused. Heading up to the nearest character, Felix gave the most genuine smile he could, despite his worry trying to impede.

"Hello Dig Dug, sorry to bother, but did you happen to see anybody running by that was wearing a blue jumpsuit?" The handyman inquired, folding his hands in front of himself.

Dig Dug gave a nod, seeming to look in the other direction. "Actually, I sure did! He didn't stop to say anything, though." Turning back to Felix, Dig Dug's expression of confusion deepened further. "But I thought for sure he was running off to see you!"

Felix blinked, his head tilting slightly to the side. "Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Well," Dig Dug began, "He was heading in quite a rush to your game. I don't see why, I was certain that I'd seen everyone from Fix It Felix Jr. at Tapper's, you know, for the party. Except you, of course."

"What? Are you sure?" Felix stated in surprised, his eyebrows raising. "But...he knew I was in TurboTime with the others...why would he go there?"

Dig Dug proceeded to give a shrug, his expression also conveying that he wasn't sure. "Like I said, he didn't say anything to anyone. He ran by so quickly that everyone was too surprised to ask him what was wrong! He seemed very upset, which is why I figured he was going off to see you."

Felix's gaze shifted up from the shorter character before him, locking on Fix It Felix Jr.'s plug in the distance. "And you're sure that's where he went?" He tried to confirm.

"Yup, you can even ask others to be sure."

"Uh, I think I'll take your word for it." Felix replied after a moment, now beginning to walk in the direction of his game. "Thank you for the help!" He called back, quickening his gait in the process.

Luckily, it didn't take too long for Felix to reach the entrance of his plug. Upon nearing, he took notice that the monorail was already back in the station, which only prompted further worry. The monorail's return meant that it'd had the time to traverse into the game, as well as come back. It took time that was too precious to have wasted, considering Ted's intentions.

"Alright Ted, don't do anything you'll regret…" Felix breathed, inwardly willing this to be true as he jumped up into the train car. Upon sensing the handyman's presence, the monorail took to motion, traveling at a mild pace into the game.

To Felix, it felt like years had passed by the time it arrived. Wasting no time to leap out of the train car, Felix bolted from the station towards the main path that led to the Nicelander building. He didn't even know where to look, why would Ted even come here? It wasn't like there was anything dangerous that would aid the twin in his goal. It didn't make sense. And Felix couldn't waste time checking every single floor, that in itself was a task that would take ages.

Finally nearing the front entrance, Felix craned his neck upwards to gaze at the height of the building. That was too many floors to check; the penthouse was on the 20th floor! What if Ted wasn't even in the building..?!

With a constricted sigh, Felix began to head forward, his thoughts racing. Maybe he should check the penthouse first, it was the most prominent room in the building after all. And, Ted had already known about it due to previous mentionings within their first tour of Game Central Station. It was a start, anyway.

Upon entering, Felix was met with mild confusion at the eerie silence that the building possessed. Though, it didn't take long for him to recall that everyone was at Tapper's, which meant that he and Ted were now the only people in the game. And to Felix's further dread, this meant no one had seen where the twin had gone, either. Deciding that thinking about this was wasting time, Felix rushed up to the elevator and pressed the return button several times, hoping that it would somehow quicken the elevator's travel. Despite it not doing so, the elevator did arrive rather swiftly, allowing Felix to enter and hastily press the button leading to the penthouse.

Consequent to the elevator arriving, dismay began to tighten in Felix's chest as he was finally able to step into the penthouse. It was empty, and like the rest of the building, it was eerily silent. Silence was bad, it was very bad, that could mean Ted was already…

No—Felix refused to believe this as true. He just had to keep looking, that was all. Taking a small step back, Felix began to turn to leave, but found himself stopping as he heard something. It was startling at first, due to the previous stillness in the air, but Felix quickly deduced that it was coming from above. Immediately, his gaze flicked to the stairs at the back of the penthouse that led towards the rooftop terrace. Ted had to be up there.

It only took a couple of moments for Felix to rush up the stairs and out onto the familiar spanning rooftop. As he pushed the door open (which had already been slightly ajar), he was stiffened to a jarring halt, his eyes widening.

Ted didn't even spare Felix a glance. The twin's gaze was focused downwards, the nearby lights that were positioned on the edge of the roof causing his tears to glint. There was a lightheaded feeling, justifiable by the distance from the ground that his vision was seeing. Like Ned, Ted wasn't the biggest fan of heights, and the sight of it caused his vision to spin. But, he didn't care, that was the whole point. It made sense; standing on the edge of a building was a good reason for this feeling.

Felix was almost struck speechless, quickly realizing what was happening. He realized the danger, the implications. A fall from this height would easily kill. Forcing himself to speak, Felix broke into a quick run, though he slowed upon growing nearer to the twin. "Ted—what are you doing?!" He began shakily, reaching out as he took small steps closer.

Ted's head turned slightly, allowing him to view Felix in his peripheral. "I-I'm doing what Ned wants—and you can't stop me." He breathed out, inching closer to the edge and allowing the tips of his shoes to jut out over the brink. "It doesn't matter what I do…" He continued on, his voice breaking as he returned his gaze forward and downwards. "TurboTime is getting unplugged, so I won't be n-needed anyway."

"No, Ted, just take a step back, you're too close to the edge." Felix countered, his nervousness prompting a more solidified tone. "Listen...I know that Ned doesn't really want you to do this. Just take it easy...take a step back and we can talk this through."

"I don't need to 'talk this through'!" Ted retorted harshly, his statement audibly wavering, as was his stance. "It's what they want me to do. I deserve it." His voice began to edge into a tone of deadly regret and guilt. "And you can't stop me." It was with this that Ted began to jump forward, kicking off of the edge of the roof to propel himself.

"No!" Felix cried in alarm, rushing forward and grabbing outwards to clutch onto Ted's hand. His fingers barely managed to wrap around the twin's wrist, and he heaved back hard upon gaining traction. Ted yelped out as he was roughly pulled backwards, the heel of his left foot still in contact with the roof. This contact prompted the racer to fall rearward rather than over the edge of the building, leaving him and Felix to trip onto the ground on their backs.

Ted shakily breathed in and out, processing the rapid events that occurred seconds prior as he tried to sit up. His entire frame seemed to be shaking as he gazed out towards the screen of the console, and he wasted not a moment to get to his feet and start scrambling towards the rooftop's edge once more.

Felix barely managed to recuperate by the time he noticed Ted's movement. Instant panic wrenched at his chest, and he too tried to stand. "Ted—stop!"

A sudden glitch in Ted's body ceased his movement. A sharp pain came with it, causing Ted to stumble to a stop, the twin now bending over slightly and clutching his stomach. And, not a second passed before another glitch occurred, flickering his body with blue binary. The subsequent agony was quick to follow, leaving Ted with a horrible nausea and tear filled eyes.

A newer panic filled Felix at this, and a third violent glitch through the racer's body provoked the handyman to rush over and reach out in a placating manner. "What's happening—are you alright?!" He questioned in fright, though Ted seemed unable to respond as his form was wracked once more with the flickering light, prompting him to retch out painfully and bend over further.

"What in code's name is happening…?!" Felix breathed, his terrored gaze flicking over Ted's body. The twin's form, in turn, grew distorted with cyan binary, earning further retching from Ted. Felix immediately moved to place a hand on the racer's shoulder to ensure balance, but he jolted as he was unable to make contact. The glitching caused his hand to phase through; it was as if he was touching a ghost.

"Oh my land! Ted—try to get away from the edge!"

It was almost as if Ted hadn't even heard the command. But, much to Felix's relief, the twin took several shaking steps back as the blue flickers left his body. His labored breathing was audible now, the prior pain causing it to sound hoarse and ragged. And, his fleeting respite was soon stolen from him, yet another glitch tearing through his form. This one seemed more painful than the last, and alarm met them both as Ted's right hand did not regain a physical form. Its essence flickered outwards, the binary blipping out of existence.

Terrified hyperventilation came from Ted now as he gazed at the missing limb, the edges of his wrist littered with blue code. "What the fuck—what the hell, what's happening?!" He rasped out, every bit of him shuddering in fear.

"I don't know, there must be something wrong with your code..!" Felix responded, his voice laced with immense confusion. On an instinct, he pulled his hammer from his toolbelt and tried hitting it against Ted's wrist, but Ted's subsequent cry proved this to be ineffective. If anything, the action only made it worse. A violent glitch ripped through the twin's body, causing him to wrench over and retch out rather forcefully.

Further panic entered Felix as he was suddenly reminded of a similar event. When he had attempted to fix Turbo's glitch in the code room, it only made the pain worse and deleted quite a bit of the code itself. This was the exact same—why was this happening?!

"We have to get you back to TurboTime and figure out what's going on!" Felix started, his sight momentarily looking to the screen in the distance. Though, it promptly snapped back to Ted as the racer stumbled forward on his hands and knees, the glitching continuing to threaten an oncoming bout of vomiting as he clutched his stomach again.

"I-I ca—An't!" Ted managed to choke out, his statement growing distorted with breakage. It was with this that Ted realized something; this was exactly what Turbo had been going through. This was worse—but this had only happened to Turbo due to his tampering.

Tampering…

Ned and Turbo were still in the code vault!

"Th-they're doing it!" Ted cried, his terrored and tear filled gaze tilting towards his torso as the arm he'd had wrapped around his stomach began to disappear.

"What—who?!" Felix exclaimed, his eyes widening as Ted stumbled forward a bit and collapsed on his side. "Who is?!"

"Turbo a—and Ned, they're in the c-code vault!"

* * *

 _Well then_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	18. Chapter 18 - Emotions Complicate Things

Chapter 18 - Emotions Really Complicate Things

* * *

Ned's wary gaze repeatedly drifted away from the darkness of the code vault's entrance. He didn't want to watch, he thought he had been sure of himself. He swore that he thought it was the right thing to do. Was it? Why couldn't he be sure?! It only prompted a nervous frustration in the twin; he thought Ted deserved it, but...once again, he wasn't sure anymore.

Turbo had been in deliberate disagreement. After his emotional episode, the shorter racer gathered himself and told Ned to hold the tether while he went into the code room. It had taken longer than Turbo would have preferred to convince Ned that, again, doing this was what Ted deserved. But, despite Turbo's efforts, Ned continued to doubt himself, which only caused Turbo to dismiss his worries and shove the tether into the twin's hands.

The sound of sparking electricity echoed within the vault as Turbo ripped out yet another cord. Sparks and strings of electricity scattered from the wire's source before they faded away, taking with them a sharpness to the air. At this, Turbo glared at the cord in his hand before throwing it to the side. He then readjusted himself once more, gripping another wire in his grasp with a vengeful tightness. And, with narrowing eyes, he grit his teeth and ripped the wire from its place, the essence of wayward electricity wavering through the air.

Turbo's frustration wouldn't leave. It wouldn't go away—he thought doing this would make it disappear. But it didn't. And that made it worse, it made him pull out each wire with more violence, with more anger, with more hatred. The pain of knowing he was going to die and that there was no way to stop it still wouldn't leave, no matter how many wires he ripped out.

Ned's grip tightened on the tether as he heard Turbo remark several curses, and he could sense the same feeling within himself. The twin may have had a different pain because of all of this, but none of it felt right anymore. He didn't mean what he said, he didn't really want Ted to die. But…

With furrowed brows, Ned pushed his doubt away. This definitely wasn't right. It didn't make sense, he was always the one who said that they shouldn't fight, that violence wasn't the answer, that they shouldn't act irrationally. And there he'd been, saying one of the worst things he possibly could have said to Ted. Thinking about it longer only prompted further guilt, and Ned drew in a breath before tugging back on the tether.

Turbo gave a small yelp as he was pulled back, the wire in his hand quickly leaving his hold. Narrowing his eyes, he snapped his gaze back towards the entrance of the room. "Ned—what the fuck?!" He snapped, a vexed tone evident in his voice.

"T-Turbo, I really think this is a bad idea…!" The twin called hesitantly, though he winced as he heard Turbo let out an exasperated sigh.

"Stop doubting yourself, you're the one who said it in the first place!"

"W-well I know, but I don't think I meant it..!" Ned tried to argue, feeling the guilt start to crawl up his spine. "I wasn't really thinking when I said it..!"

"Ugh—Ned, stop changing your mind! First you don't think it's fine, then you do think it's fine, and then you don't again!" Turbo countered, his annoyance now heightening at his own self doubt. "Just deal with it!"

"I-I don't think I can…!" Ned replied with dwindling confidence. "What good does killing him do..?!"

"It's supposed to make us feel better!" Turbo shouted back, though his voice lowered to that of an inaudible growl as he glowered back to Ted's code box. "Even though it's not."

Silence followed for a few moments before Ned spoke up again, seeming increasingly hesitant. "K-killing him isn't going to change the fact that our game is getting unplugged…!"

At this, Turbo's glare narrowed further, and he grit his teeth to keep from replying. He knew that what Ned was saying was true, but he couldn't let it matter. This was supposed to make him feel better for what Ted did. He couldn't allow himself to feel bad for this. "Yeah, well, it's his fault we're getting unplugged in the first place!"

"I-I know, but we already—"

"Ned, just shut up!" Turbo broke in, his tone incredibly hostile and aggravated. "Ted deserves it!"

"You'll be just as bad as him if you do this…!" Ned found himself saying, though immediate regret met him as possible repercussions began to cross his mind.

Turbo blinked, his mind taking a second to process the statement. But, as it did, his glare returned to the entrance of the room. "Fuck you! How could I possibly do anything worse than what he did?!" He began, the rage in his voice extremely evident. But, within it, there were other emotions as well. His tone flickered to that of further hatred upon his next statement, though it was also laced with...fear? "He's leaving YOU homeless! I'm going to fucking DIE, and it was HIS idea in the first place! So he can go fuck himself, because I'm giving him just what he deserves!"

It was with this that Turbo reached outwards and managed to grasp several wires at once, his glare flaring with hatred. He leaned a bit so he could place his foot on the edge of the box to gain leverage before violently ripping the cords from their places, not an ounce of hesitation stopping him.

Ned's eyes widened at this, and, in a panic, he quickly pulled back hard on the tether. "Stop!"

Turbo yelped out once more as he was forced away from the code, his small form left struggling to gain balance in the weightlessness of the room. "Ned I swear to fucking—"

"Please—I didn't mean what I said to him!" Ned broke in, his posture growing ever more tense. "Killing him isn't going to help us feel any better! He already feels horrible enough!"

"What, so you're saying I should let him live with his guilt instead?! Is that what you want?!"

"No! I-I just want it all to stop…! We're only making it worse!" Ned replied rapidly, his nervousness causing him to trip over his words.

"Do you think I care?!" Turbo began sharply, his voice darkened. "I'm going to be dead, so none of this affects me!"

"No—no you can't say that…!" Ned rasped back, a familiar feeling of hopelessness beginning to sink in. This hopelessness, almost akin to what he'd felt when he'd told Ted to kill himself, reminded the guilty twin of everything that was really happening. "Y-you can't be selfish like that…!"

"You think I'M selfish?!" Turbo began incredulously, almost wanting to laugh. "HE'S the one who's selfish! Ned, we've been over this a million times! Just fucking get over it!"

Both brothers were now taken over with such a great amount of emotion that they were unable to continue speaking. This left them thinking, but what was running through their heads couldn't be any more different. Sure, they both wanted it to end, but they had completely different ideas of what the outcome should be.

"Turbo—"

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, you can't make up your mind! And now you're making ME look like I'm the one who's the villain!"

"I-It's not going to make you feel better…!"

"I'm not doing it only for that—just shut up! I'm sick of dealing with you!"

Lying through his teeth, again. It felt familiar.

"Then why are you doing it..?!" Came Ned's pleading voice. He only wanted to find answers, he only wanted to make things alright again.

"Because I fucking care okay?!" Turbo retorted immediately, his voice slightly broken as a weak glitch echoed through his body, of which was accompanied by a dragging feeling of lightheadedness and nausea. "It pisses me off that he would not only do this to ME, but to YOU! You didn't even fucking do anything wrong! You just got caught up in this horrible mess—and now you're going to suffer!"

Ned grew silent at this, his chest constricting a bit as he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. But, before he could reply, Turbo spoke up again.

"This fucker thinks he has the right to ruin your life!" He continued on, gesturing stiffly towards Ted's glitching code box. "Sure, I'm a piece of shit, I know that, but you haven't even done anything wrong!"

"I—"

"He's going to pay for it!" Turbo interrupted, now seeming as though he wouldn't stop, even if Ned kept trying. "I'm going to wipe his miserable existence off of the face of this arcade, because he fucking deserves it!" With this, Turbo forced himself forward and took hold of the remaining wires, wasting not a moment to tear them from their places. Sparks flickered into the air as the cords broke free, floating away almost peacefully as they disintegrated into non-existence.

Ned swallowed nervously at this, his grip slowly loosening on the tether as Ted's code box grew dim. Though, he realized the box was still been there, floating weightlessly in its place. The brothers had expected it to disappear once it wasn't given any source of life, so why didn't it? How was it affecting Ted? These questions, as well as nerves, caused Ned to look away and try to focus on anything else.

Turbo seemed to be confused at this as well, his gaze narrowing as the top base of the box continued to spark with frazzled electricity. It still had energy...it still had life, which meant that Ted wasn't gone yet. With clenched teeth, Turbo edged himself a bit closer to the wayward code box before tapping on it, allowing its contents to be revealed.

Blinking widened eyes, Turbo quickly deduced that ripping out the wires did a bit more than steal the box's light.

As soon as it was freed, the distorted binary that was within fled their origins, leaving only dimly flickering sub-categories that made up Ted as a whole. Though, once a large amount of their code was gone, a few of the boxes began to crack, broken edges now slithering up their sides and allowing a red light to shine through the forming holes. And, the binary that was freed prior scattered in many different directions, avoiding Turbo altogether as they left.

Turbo attempted to make out the labels along the boxes' fronts, but doing so was becoming increasingly difficult as their casings started to shatter. He could barely read most of them as it was, what with their sporadic and weakening luminescence. However, this didn't stop him from trying, thus prompting him to narrow his gaze and study the glitching text.

Regeneration, abilities, personality, physicality, emotions, characteristics, it all still seemed to be there. The basics, anyway. But, Turbo's brow raised at one of them, noting that it seemed more damaged than the others. 'Emotions'. Why would emotions look so broken? After a moment of thought, Turbo decided that Ted had been through quite a wide range of them over the past couple of days, but he didn't really care, he knew that for sure.

Dismissing the 'Emotions' box from his mind, Turbo focused his attention on the 'Physicality' box beside it. If Ted didn't have any physicality, would that mean he'd die if it were tampered with? After all, it already seemed cracked in a few places, most likely due to Turbo's efforts prior. But, Turbo himself wasn't convinced that simply destroying one box would rid the twin completely, the others would still be in existence.

It was a start, though.

Reaching forward to touch the category, a sudden sense of alarm met Turbo upon a flare-up of pain coursing through his fingertips. In light of this, Turbo quickly withdrew his hand with a hiss of pain, glaring at it momentarily before turning back to the now open box.

Well, at least it was open. Not that it being open was any help, much to Turbo's growing vexation. Barely anything within was legible; the smaller boxes only consisted of words that were distorted and drowned out by wayward binary. Whatever—getting rid of them was all he needed to do, it didn't matter what they were.

Now, how to actually get rid of them was the question. Turbo briefly contemplated several options at this, his brows furrowing in thought as his gaze flicked between the code at his disposal. He could try and remove them altogether...maybe if he took them out, they would cease to exist? That seemed like the best bet, and Turbo didn't really feel like wasting any more time with this. Ned was bound to speak up again at some point, possibly impeding his efforts a third time.

After a few attempts of trying to open the boxes ended in failure and repeating jarring pain to his fingers, Turbo growled out in frustration as he was continuously denied access. What the hell—why couldn't he do anything?! This was bullshit, how was he supposed to get rid of them now?! He couldn't even grab them to pull them away, let alone delete them, which was frustrating in itself. And, what was more frustrating was that the effects of the code room were beginning to take hold, causing a hollow feeling in his throat from nausea and mildly spinning vision.

"Fuck you, be difficult then." Turbo snarled out venomously, removing his attention from the 'Physicality' category and redirecting it towards the other attributes. Whatever, just deal with them in order. 'Emotions' came next in line, maybe messing with them would be just as effective, hell if he knew.

Outstretching his hand, Turbo yelped at the subsequent pain he was met with upon gaining contact, but he was quick to forget it as the code along the outside of the box flickered through his hand, travelling quickly up his arm and prompting his own body to glitch. It was at this that a sudden wave of feeling met him, an unbearable sensation of guilt and self hatred taking over his thoughts. Quickly shutting his eyes, Turbo attempted to mentally will the feelings away, but as his glitching continued, the emotions only worsened.

Ned was quick to see Turbo's glitching form as he returned his sight to the code room, his eyes widening in worry as the glitching refused to cease. "Turbo—are you okay..?!" The twin gasped out, his attention briskly averting towards Turbo's own code box as he sensed its motion in his peripheral.

Turbo's code, or, rather, what was left of it, actually seemed to look like it was repairing itself. Due to the distance, Ned couldn't exactly see what was changing, but he could tell one of wayward, cracked boxes began to lose its crippling damage. Its dull glow began to brighten, and the bits of red light that had been shining through the chips in the casing were disappearing.

With widening eyes, Ned rapidly tried to process what was happening, but...he didn't have enough information to even have a clue. All he'd seen was Turbo beginning to glitch, and then, well, it stopped making sense. "W-What's happening?!" He called out regardless, returning his gaze back to Turbo.

Turbo never had the chance to hear him. It was just getting worse, a rising sensation of nausea now mixing within. The onslaught of emotion was agonizing—but not physically, rather, it was mental. And, even though his eyes were shut rather tightly, he could see something. It didn't make sense, it was blurry. But slowly, Turbo managed to realize that whatever he was seeing was blocked by tears, hence his vision's distortion and the burning feeling in his throat.

Then, he could hear voices. Those, too, were fuzzy, but he managed to recognize their tone. In fact, surprise met him as he recognized his own voice, subsequent to what he realized was Ned's voice. What was being said was just about indiscernible, but it was evident that both were rather upset.

"...you think—" Himself, he could tell.

"...it's not his—" That was Ned.

"...stop!—" Too distorted to tell..

"...sorry doesn't—" Himself.

"...just kill—" Ned again.

The voices began to merge together in a way that now made it impossible to even make out their fragments. Turbo's hearing soon began to ring in a quite discomforting way at this, and he started to become aware that whatever he had been looking at was changing. It flickered cyan blue in a disorienting manner before Turbo could finally make out the new vague image.

It looked like he was somewhere he'd been before, though, whoever he was seeing through gazed downwards before Turbo could tell the location. This change of focus allowed him to catch a glimpse of two blurry hands that were faced top up to the viewer, the knuckles speckled with blood. The backdrop of their location (which Turbo assumed to be a floor) was a dull golden color, of which Turbo soon realized the location to be Game Central Station. He could hear voices again...but..there were too many, it hurt. And, before he could tell any more, the mirage faded to darkness.

Turbo slowly managed to open his eyes to the real world. While what happened felt like an eternity to him, it was merely a few moments as Ned could tell. In fact, something felt different as he regained his senses, leaving him with a pain in his chest that felt too tight. Nonetheless, his body was quick to regain its physical form now, leaving Turbo with widened eyes and ragged breathing.

"Turbo—are you okay?!" He could finally hear Ned's voice.

"What the FUCK—NO I'm not okay!" He cried back, continuing to feel a mental pain that made his voice shake and his eyes burn.

Ned was quick to sense this, assuming Turbo to be rather upset. "What happened..?!"

"I don't know! I could hear something, I could see something, but it was too fucking blurry and distorted to tell what it was!"

An eerie silence passed before Ned shifted his gaze back to Turbo's littered code box, his brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what happened. He himself was the only one who hadn't been in the code room yet, leaving him at a disadvantage and keeping him from knowing what was going on. "One of your code boxes changed!" He called out, deciding it would be best to at least say that, considering that was all he knew.

Turbo blinked, quickly looking to his own code. He soon realized that what Ned said was true, and he was able to get a much better view of it than what the twin managed to see. One of the boxes was fixed, of which Turbo could read it to be his 'Emotions' box. It, in itself, seemed to have no damage whatsoever anymore, a great contrast to minutes prior.

"What the fuck..what the fuck…" Turbo breathed out, his gaze now flicking back and forth between his code and Ted's. Though, he blinked again in further realization as he noticed Ted's emotion box to be completely shattered of its contents. The code was gone, leaving only its casing behind, which was beginning to flicker out of existence. "What the hell, what the fuck…?!" He continued to rasp out, looking nervously to the hand that touched the code in the first place.

What Turbo managed to see before losing his vision was the binary slithering up his arm, almost through his own code itself. He knew a violent glitch happened after, but further confusion continued to lead him onwards. Why would it do that? Why would the code go into him instead? He felt such guilt and hatred when it occurred, and even now it wouldn't leave, he almost wanted to cry because of it.

Though, Turbo soon remembered that it had been stated many times (by both Felix and Ned alike) that Ted had been continually wracked with guilt. 'Is that was I'm feeling…?' Turbo thought, his perplexed gaze shifting downwards to himself in search of the invisible pain that was wracking him. Is that what hurt now? Is that what was causing him to be on the brink of frustrated tears?

Glancing between his and Ted's code again, Turbo took note of how his 'Emotions' box had been replenished, while, on the other hand, Ted's had been utterly destroyed. Had one gone to the other? Did his broken code accept Ted's as his own to heal itself? Could it even do that?!

"What even the fuck…" Turbo breathed out, closing his eyes and shaking his head as a further lightheaded sensation washed over him, mostly due to the length of time he had been in the code room. He didn't even care about killing Ted anymore, he just wanted to leave. He just wanted the pain to go away.

Though, little did he know, his previous efforts wouldn't be all for naught.


	19. Chapter 19 - A Broken Shift

Chapter 19 - A Broken Shift

* * *

It was strange.

The pain left.

Emptiness.

It felt like nothing.

The sudden change confused Felix to no end, as Ted had stopped crying and looked utterly hopeless and lifeless. At their current moment, Felix had been trying to help Ted through the penthouse and onto the elevator so they could return to TurboTime. This help consisted of the handyman walking a mere stride in front of Ted, though he was treading backwards to keep an eye on the twin. He was lucky enough to convince Ted to go back to the game once his own emotions subsided, to convince him that mistakes were made and they could be changed.

Though, it wasn't as though Felix could do much more. Due to not being able to make any physical contact with Ted's body, he wouldn't even be able to catch Ted if the racer began to fall over (which was seeming to be increasingly likely as seconds passed). After all, Ted's physicality was barely stable enough to keep him upright and walking.

By this time, Ted's left arm had disintegrated into nothing, and mildly glimmering boxes of blue code were at the base of what was left. Additionally, much to Felix's unsettlement, remnants of the twin's face seemed broken and distorted, though it was only severe on one side. What had replaced the facial features on the left seemed to be a black emptiness, though, significant features such as his eye, half of his nose, and his mouth were replaced with a disturbing array of flickering binary and seemingly dripping code; it was almost as if the code was acting in place of the blood that was now missing. It was tinted faint reds and dark purples, reminding a greatly disturbed Felix of bloody bruises.

Though, now, Felix stopped moving because Ted stopped moving. The twin's stillness and sudden silence left a chilled feeling in Felix's chest, and his gaze desperately searched Ted's for any sign of emotion. It was difficult, seeing as half of Ted's face was just about gone, but the handyman could manage enough to sense that something was very wrong.

"Ted...?" Felix breathed out in questioning, catching an errant tear slipping down Ted's face, possibly the last as Ted's crying suddenly ceased. Upon receiving no reply, Felix took a small step closer, trying to study Ted's expression to the best of his abilities. What he could make of it only heightened his worry; it didn't make sense, and it was highly unsettling due to how Ted had been acting only seconds prior.

Ted's attention seemed to be focused past Felix, though his pupil quickly flicked back to the man before him. "What."

"Are you okay there brother...?"

"I don't feel anything." Ted replied bluntly, the statement seeming just as hollow and lifeless as his gaze. He then proceeded to take a step back, his head turning away slightly and directing its attention elsewhere.

Felix swallowed cautiously at this, and he briefly looked to Ted's arm as the flickering code slowly travelled upwards. "You don't feel any pain?" He inquired quietly, almost hesitantly, his brows furrowing as Ted took another step backwards. And, upon receiving silence as a response, Felix opened his mouth to ask Ted why he was backing up, but his chance was stolen as Ted abruptly turned and bolted in the direction of the steps to the roof.

Immediately jarred with shock, Felix was left faltering before he managed to get himself to chase after the twin in a panic. "No—Ted stop!" He begged raggedly, his heartbeat having spiked at the sudden event. As he reached the top of the steps, Felix shoved the terrace's door open fully and quickly caught sight of Ted near the edge of the roof, though the twin wasn't standing directly on the ledge. But, this didn't stop horror from meeting Felix as he came to a nauseating realization.

He couldn't stop Ted from jumping, even if he wanted to.

No physicality.

"Ted—stop, please!" Felix pleaded out, fear leaving him frozen in his spot. He knew that if Ted felt nothing, then there was nothing stopping him from jumping. No regret, no guilt, no sadness. And, the twin had already attempted it twice—what was to stop him a third time?

Ted turned his head slightly, the distorted and ghostly side of his face merely seen past the edge of his helmet. The rays from the lights lining the edge of the roof shimmered against the broken pixels, making them seem mirrored and more blood-like. But now, the pixels began to mix in with real blood, staining the white cement below with dark crimson droplets.

Sickened at this, Felix drew in heavy and difficult breaths, focusing his gaze back up to what was left of Ted's face. There was no emotion, but, Felix quickly realized that something Ted wasn't missing was physical pain. He was able to see the hurt in the twin's eyes, the agony causing Ted's body to twitch and the crippled areas to flicker.

"Why." Came Ted's simple question.

"We can fix this—we can fix you!" Felix tried to assure, his voice wavering in fear. "We can figure this out—!"

"I don't care." Ted broke in coldly, the pixels that represented his eye narrowing as more blood dripped downwards now, seeping into his jacket's shoulder. With this blood-flow, a further portion of Ted's face began to melt away into darkness, its edges flashing with red binary and causing it to emit an unsettling sound.

Felix felt his throat begin to burn in terror, and he took a futile step onward, his hands shaking. "Don't do it..! Please, I'm begging you..!" He could barely rasp out.

Ted's head shifted back forward, and he drew in a slow breath before glaring to Felix again. "Tell them they got what they wanted." He growled out lowly. And, with closed eyes, the twin took a quick step forward, wasting not a moment to do as he'd done before. But...now Felix couldn't stop him.

Despite this, Felix immediately ran forward, reaching outwards to grasp something he would never be able to hold. "NO!"

Something flickered.

Turbo's gaze caught the light just as he was moving turn, prompting him to quickly redirect himself forward. He blinked in confusion, his vision following the cracks slithering their way up Ted's code boxes. "What...?" He began, his pupils thinning at the now increasing illumination.

Other than Turbo's breathing, an unsettling sound akin to breaking ice permeated the code room now, and mere moments passed before a larger flash of light broke through the expanse, the casings that once protected Ted's code shattering and fraying out in several directions. Turbo instinctively recoiled at the jarring light and sound, his forearm raising to protect his face. Luckily, both surprising elements faded just as quickly as they'd come, leaving the code room virtually silent and dark once more.

Ned seemed to process the occurrence quite a bit faster than his sibling (what with the twin being further in proximity, thus leaving him with less information to work with), and his eyes were quick to widen in panic and confusion."What happened?!"

Turbo's voice caught in his throat, his gaze unblinking as his mind connected the puzzle pieces. "Oh God…" He managed to rasp out, his pupils flicking back and forth in search of the code that was no longer there. "He actually did it…!"

Upon this statement, his thoughts berated him venomously. 'Of course he did it you fucking idiot! What did you expect?! Did you think he was lying when he said he'd do it?! Did you think he was too much of a coward?!'

Turbo's eyes were quick to shut themselves at this. It didn't make sense—five minutes prior he had been hellbent on finishing the job himself! Why did it matter now?! Why did he suddenly feel so bad?!

"Turbo!"

Ned's call broke Turbo from his inner turmoil, and his head turned towards the light of the hallway. "What?!"

"What happened..?!" Ned repeated, his voice a bit quieter, yet still holding the same inflection of worry and increasing fear.

Turbo returned his gaze forward, still searching for something that wasn't there. "It's gone—his code is completely gone!" He replied, his posture slowly growing stiff as Ned didn't reply right away. As these seconds ticked on, the tense sensation in his body began to feel much like ice, spreading through his veins and causing him to shudder. He turned now, but found himself blinking in confusion as the tether's previous tension had loosened, almost to the point of seeming like nobody was holding onto the other side-

Turbo's expression shifted.

Fuck.

Ned let go.

The twin didn't hear Turbo call him, or even see the eventual presence of his brother in the doorway. He didn't help Turbo get up from falling at the increased gravity. He didn't even know where he was anymore—it was too blurry to see. This hadn't really happened, right? It was all just a sick, fucked up dream, right? He just had to wake up, and then everything would be fine.

Turbo, in mild disorientation, slowly managed to stand and untie himself, the lightheadedness that had plagued him now beginning to fade. At this, his gaze lifted. "Ned, what the hell did you—...let go...for…" His discrepancy was quick to falter, soon growing nonexistent as he took in what was happening.

At this point, Ned was far from where he'd been standing a mere minute ago, almost back to back with the wired wall. Turbo's brows furrowed at the unsettling sensation he began to feel. The twin's panic was uncharacteristically silent; he wasn't sobbing, or breathing heavily, or even shaking. He was just tense, stiff, staring downwards with glazed over eyes and bunched up shoulders. His arms were raised slightly, his hands still and his fingers curled as if he'd been in the motion of moving them.

"Ned…?"

No response.

"Ned?" Turbo repeated, taking a cautious step forward despite his hesitance.

Still no response.

"Ned!"

A moment passed before, "H-he's really gone…"

It was almost hard to hear, not only due to its volume, but its lack of clarity; it was broken, as if not all the pieces had gotten through. Turbo's brows furrowed further. He wanted to speak, but none of it made sense anymore. They wanted it to happen. And now, now that it finally happened, neither of them wanted it. Not anymore. Ned's regret riddled conscience had gotten in the way, and now Turbo was littered with emotions that he didn't ask for. Killing Ted was supposed to make the pain go away.

But it didn't. And now he was gone.

Turbo blinked himself out of his thoughts upon hearing Ned speak again. He hadn't expected the statement, but...he somehow knew what it was going to be anyway.

"I-it's all my f-fault—"

"Ned, shut the FUCK UP!" Turbo suddenly broke in, jarring the twin before him. A silence hung in the air for a moment before he spoke again, the anger in his voice unfading. "Stop fucking blaming yourself—I KNOW you told him to do it, but I also know that you fucking regretted it!"

"B-but I—"

"SHUT UP! Just shut up!" Turbo interjected, taking a step forward as Ned flinched back. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have kept doubting yourself!" His voice hadn't lowered in intensity at this point, but he faltered for a moment, his gaze looking downward before returning to his sibling. "Not like it fucking matters…" He proceeded to growl out in continuation, "It's not like you really would have been able to stop me—why do I have to be like this?!" His exclamation caused Ned to recoil further, though he didn't seem to take note of this and kept going. "Killing him was supposed to fix it! But nooo—he had to go and do it first! And now he's fucking gone forever!"

His last few statements were an icy addition to the ongoing rant, and the evident lack of thought behind them was quick to slice against Ned's ears. The blaze in Turbo's eyes began to fade as he watched a broken expression etch itself on the twin's features, and he found any statement he'd planned on saying gone from his mind; it was almost a lost expression, hopeless and devoid of life, and yet it was still filled with an immense amount grief and fear. Turbo's gaze flicked to the tears that only welled further in Ned's eyes before he tried to take a step forward, opening his mouth to say something but not getting the chance.

"H-he's really gone…!" While Ned had said it before, this one stung much more than the last. The first time he'd said those words had been broken, but this one held a sick acceptance and the realization of grief rather than guilt. Regret turned to mourning. Sadness turned to misery. Leading up to this, it all could have been a lie. There was still the chance that Ted wouldn't have…actually…

...but he did. That chance was gone. There wasn't any more time to have that sliver of hope. The hope that maybe their actions hadn't really locked the event in place. The hope that maybe they'd see Ted come back and they could apologize. All of that hope had been shot down to leave room for realization and grief; he was actually gone.

"Ned—"

"H-he's really gone!" Ned's shoulders tensed further, his sight leaving Turbo and focusing blurrily on the dark, open doorway. "Sh-shit—he's really gone…!" The statement fragmented into that of hoarse, yet held back, sobbing, and it wasn't until he looked back to Turbo that he was unable to force it back. And, it was to Turbo's shock that the twin suddenly hugged him, clutching him as if he'd disappear too. "A-and you're going to die too…!"

A fearful and nauseous feeling jabbed at Turbo's stomach as he tried to process what was currently happening, and he found himself unable to return the gesture. He didn't know what to think anymore, it's not as if they could do anything anyway. The arcade was going to open soon, leaving each minute to seem so much smaller.

"P-please…! I-I can't lose you too!" Ned rasped out, his body leaning a little as he tightened his grip on his sibling.

Turbo was silent for a moment before he pulled back, his gaze held elsewhere and away from Ned entirely. "We don't know what to do and there's not enough time to try and figure it out. You're going to have to leave eventually—"

"No—no I can't leave you here!"

Turbo's eyes widened and he was quick to look back up at Ned, now not fearing the idea of doing so. "Ned." He began, his tone suddenly a bit darker, "You're leaving this game."

"N-no I'm—"

"Ned you're fucking LEAVING!" Turbo broke in sharply, making Ned recoil. "Why do you even want to stay?!"

A sickening silence was all that remained from his statement, but Turbo could tell what Ned wanted to say from how the twin now refused to look at him. With a slightly narrowing gaze, Turbo's voice grew quieter. "You're going to have to live with us being gone."

"I-I can't…" Ned's voice was even quieter than Turbo's now, wavering in itself as he hugged himself with one arm.

Turbo's newfound emotions caused his heart to twist a little at this, and he mentally cursed them away. "You're going to have to, because you're not fucking staying. You're not giving up like that."

"...I can't…you're both g-going to be gone so quickly...I-I can't do it..."

"Ned."

No reply.

"Ned, look at me."

This just prompted the twin's eyes to close, his grip tightening on his arm as he turned his head away. The burning feeling in his throat only grew worse, making it impossible for him to speak without crying again.

A greater frustration constricted Turbo's chest, and he drew in a breath to keep from snapping again. "Fine. Don't look at me, but you're still going to do what I say. And I say that you're leaving this game. I'm not letting you do that to yourself."

Even if he wanted to, Ned couldn't say anything. He wanted to ask where he'd go, what he'd do, and how long he'd be alone. Well, he knew the answer to the last one; his brothers would be gone, and not only that, their game wouldn't even be there anymore. It wasn't as if he could just hide in another game, that would be asking too much of someone else, and he would always be a burden on their shoulders with his presence. Felix, maybe, but…

"I know everything is shit, but you can't give up like that, okay?" Turbo continued, the ongoing silence ticking at his nerves and inducing a greater anxiety with each passing second. And, as it pressed on, his gaze narrowed further. "Ned, answer me."

"I-I..." Ned's reply faded as he began to feel his chest shudder and shorter breaths meet his lungs. He grit his teeth at this, trying to swallow the sore feeling in his throat so he could speak. "Where do I-I go…" He breathed out, attempting to manage each question one at a time.

Turbo paused, trying to think of an answer that wasn't 'I don't know'. Another moment of silence presented itself before he drew in a breath. "Maybe Felix—"

"Felix hates me…"

The quiet statement prompted Turbo to blink and his expression to shift. "Felix doesn't hate you," He retorted, and for a moment, his expression fell, a thought running through his head. He opened his mouth to say it, but quickly held his tongue. Rewording the thought, he managed a different sentence. "Felix doesn't hate anybody."

"B-but I—"

"Ned." Turbo's lowered voice silenced Ned's. "There's nothing we can do about what happened…" He drew off, turning away towards the code room in a mild pace. "It's all fucked up, it's horribly fucked and the only thing we can accomplish is at least...having one of us alive in the end."

"I-I don't want to be alone…!" Ned managed, setting his teary eyed gaze back onto his brother and hugging himself fully.

"Just because Ted and I are going to be gone doesn't mean you're going to be completely alone." Turbo reasoned, his attention shifting towards his hands as a weak glitch flickered through them. "There are so many other people in this arcade—"

"Y-you know that's not the same…!" Ned rasped back, his grip tightening around himself.

"Ned, I know it's not!" The frustrated statement was followed by silence, before, "I know it's not."

Ned's gaze flicked over Turbo as the shorter racer drew closer again. "You and I both know what's going to happen, so it'd be better for you to accept it while I'm still here."

Ned's expression shifted ever so slightly, his attention unwavering from his brother. "I...I can't—I can't—"

"You're going to have to." Turbo cut in, his brows furrowed and his gaze now lacking hostility. "At the very least, you don't have to accept it right now, just know that it's real. You need to realize it's not your fault. And, I'll get to go...knowing that you did."

"There's n-no point for me to be alive without you two…! I don't have a purpose…!" Ned's voice was growing increasingly frail, thus keeping Turbo from subsequently snapping back at him again.

"Your purpose for staying alive is because I don't want you dead." He began, a bit gentler than he thought he would. "We have no idea what could happen after all of this, you could even end up being happy." As Ned opened his mouth to disagree, Turbo gave him a look and continued. "I'm not saying you'll forget about us, that'll never happen. And I'm not saying you'll be happy that we're gone. But your life isn't ruined just because our game is."

"But I…"

"Ned, you're not going to be able to think up a reason that will get me to change my mind." Turbo retorted, his voice holding a sense of finality as Ned looked to the floor. "I know this is all really fucked up, and I don't want it to happen either. But it is, and we can't really do anything about it. The only thing we CAN do is try and be okay until the end."

* * *

 _Ohh man this one was crazy to write! This story is comin' to a close soon enough, and I'm so happy people have enjoyed it! Let me know what you think so far in the reviews, it means a lot!_

 _Oh, and thank you to everyone who's read this far! It means so much to me that you enjoy it!_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	20. Chapter 20 - You Won't Forget This

Chapter 20 - You Won't Forget This

* * *

Felix was practically tripping down the steps of the penthouse. His chest hurt more than it ever had before in his life; the pain felt like it wouldn't end. There was only one goal in his mind: get to ground level. He didn't know if he really wanted to see what was down there, or if there was anything at all. The thought of different outcomes made him sick, no matter what they were, no matter if they got increasingly worse and/or slightly less anxiety inducing.

The elevator doors wouldn't open fast enough. The ride on the elevator felt like forever. Running down the hall towards the front door took an eternity. His hands were shaking. It was too warm. Was everything blurry?

Shoving the front doors open, Felix managed to take a few steps forward before stopping. His gaze searched the ground, but it found nothing, no traces, no hints of the horror that had taken place moments before. Another step led Felix down the first stair, though he didn't advance further. "No, no no no…!" Was all he could breathe out. He took another step, his shaking hands reaching out ever so slightly in hesitance.

His thoughts stopped making sense as he looked up towards the screen of his game. The smallest amount of light had begun to filter through the front doors of the arcade, a sign of the rising sun. It was still early, but the night had gone by so fast as it was.

Did they really have much time left?

At this thought, Felix ran down the remaining steps and rounded the edge of the building. He had to get to TurboTime as quickly as possible. He had two racers to deal with after all, and there wasn't time to waste.

As before, things began to feel like they were taking too long. The monorail wouldn't go fast enough. And, to his dismay, he nearly ran into Ralph during his trek across Game Central Station. The enemy of his game was swift to turn around, revealing the Nicelanders behind him, all heading in the opposite direction that Felix was currently following.

"Hey, Felix!" Ralph called, prompting Felix to slow himself to a stop with tensed shoulders. "We haven't seen you all night, where have you been? The party wasn't the same without you!"

"I uh, I've been dealing with those TurboTime characters! Uh—helping them get acquainted and all! I really have to finish that up before the arcade opens!" Felix managed to reply as he turned around. His nervous smile wasn't as genuine as his usual smiles were, but none of his coworkers had a chance to ask why that was before he turned back around and continued running. "I'll be back before it's time to go to work!" He called back as an afterthought, easing the worries that the others were surely feeling.

A single hop from the steps of the TurboTime monorail to the train itself got Felix into the car. And, as he arrived, a single jump got him out. The artificial sunlight of the game met his gaze, causing him to squint momentarily. He was quick to regain normal vision however, allowing him to spot Turbo and Ned in the distance, both of whom were walking towards their home.

Oh boy.

"We could—Felix?!" Ned gasped, quickly taking a few steps back and leaving Turbo to stand more in front.

Turbo turned his attention to the nearing handyman, and he blinked widening eyes. "Felix listen, we didn't—"

"Be quiet!" Felix snapped, now close enough to them that he could stop. "Ted's gone!"

Ned visibly winced at this, and Turbo was fast to reply. "We know that already." He began, the shock in his eyes fading from the initial encounter. "Trust me, we saw—"

"You didn't see what I saw." Felix cut in, his eyes narrowing and his fists clenching. "You didn't see what he looked like, you didn't hear what he sounded like, and you didn't have to watch it happen! He was in MY game, and I bet you can guess what he did! I'll never be able to unsee any of this!"

The sickness in Ned's stomach returned by now, prompting him to step back again. "I-I'm so sorry Felix…!" He managed to say, unable to keep eye contact. "I'm sorry you had to see that, I-I really am, after I said it I didn't think—"

"You didn't think he'd do it?" Felix retorted coldly, pain evident in his gaze.

"Hey, you were the one going on about how people make stupid decisions when they feel something they don't understand! Why can't that apply now?!" Turbo retorted, frustration rising in his chest. "Does that reasoning not apply to Ned and I?"

Felix faltered for a moment, his stance unmoving before he seemed to straighten himself a little. Turbo, too, untensed himself, his gaze narrowing. "You can't say this is different. All of this is happening in the first place because of Ted. Everything caused by it is just a consequence."

"So you're saying he got what was coming to him?" Felix said, a mild passive-aggressiveness echoing in his voice.

"N-no, I-I just…" Ned lifted his gaze, beginning to hug himself again. "It's all s-so confusing…"

"We already know we fucked up, okay? If anything, I'm getting what's coming to me, too." Turbo admitted, a small glitch shuddering through his body. He glanced to Ned before returning his sight to Felix. "And I need you to make sure Ned leaves this game before it gets unplugged. Drag him out of here if you have to."

Felix gazed downwards before straightening himself fully, fiddling with his hammer. "Fine." He replied quietly, almost sounding defeated. He knew what he'd said before, even if he didn't want to believe it now. But, it was unfair to go against it. Looking back up, he let out a heavy sigh. "We don't have much time. The sun's rising, and Litwak will show up before the arcade is due to open."

"Well, sounds like we'd better hurry up then." Turbo began, glancing back to Ned. At Felix's confused expression, Turbo continued his path to the garage. "We decided we might as well do a final race while we have the chance."

"Y-yeah...and then I was going to take Turbo's car with me after...you know…" Ned added on, following in Turbo's footsteps.

Felix turned a little to face their direction, gazing to their cars. He hadn't really taken a good look at them yet; so much had been happening after all. "Alright, I guess I'll go over to the podium and wait for you. Are you just going to do one lap, or…?"

"Might as well do three." Turbo said in response, already in his car now and starting the engine. "We've got time for that, right?"

"Yeah, if you're fast enough." Felix confirmed, sitting down on the lowest tier of the podium.

"Hah, you don't have to worry about that." Turbo muttered under his breath. And, after a minute or so, he and Ned had gotten themselves to the starting line. The larger amount of space there without Ted was unnerving, so they left a gap in-between themselves. To their mild surprise, the theme song began to play in the backdrop, and seconds later, they heard the announcer's voice for the last time.

"Ready? GO!"

Turbo slammed down the pedal, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. For a moment, he didn't pay attention to where Ned was, but he became keenly aware upon the realization that the twin wasn't too far behind. Sure, it was their last race, but he'd be damned if he didn't win it; he wasn't successful in his first, and the ironic idea of losing his last was frustrating.

As promised to Felix, it didn't take long for him and Ned to get to their second lap. Felix's gaze followed them as they passed the checkered starting line, his fingers tightening on the surface of the podium's edge. A nervous glance towards the screen of the outside world led him to see a few brighter rays of sunlight peeking past the edges of the 'Out of Order' sign, prompting him to gaze back at the racers with furrowed brows. "C'mon guys…"

Turbo's eyes narrowed as the second turn neared, and he jammed his wheel to the left, allowing his car to drift in the dirt before straightening out. For a moment, he wanted to look to his side as he caught sight of something blue in his peripheral, but he forced himself against it so he didn't lose any concentration. To further prevent this, he focused his gaze more on the track and the upcoming third turn.

He and Ned had completed the fourth turn before Turbo was slightly jarred by a glitch flickering through his body. To his luck, it didn't affect much, but Ned was able to pull ahead slightly. Turbo's mild surprise at this overtook the distracted feeling wracking his mind; it was almost funny that Ned would allow himself to advance despite what happened moments prior. Maybe he didn't see it?

Whatever, it didn't matter. He had a race to win.

The next two turns still held Ned in the front, but it felt as though it was only by inches. As the fourth turn grew closer, Turbo's gaze narrowed and he directed himself to the inner part of the track, catching himself in a drift. His head lifted a bit and turned towards Ned as he managed to pass the twin, and for a moment, for the first time in a while, he almost felt happy.

Straightening his car out at the completion of the turn, Turbo grinned wide as his car soon sped over the finish line, and he slammed the brakes after it did so. "Haha, YES! Turbo-tastic!"

Something flickered.

Nobody saw it in the darkness of the code room.

Outside of the code room, however?

They saw it.

Turbo had hopped out of his car by now, as Ned was currently doing. But, the initial joy from his win was soon taken as all three noticed the checkered finish line flickering, it's light easy to see despite the daytime sun. "What the—" Turbo's statement drew off as his gaze flicked to his hand, flickering white binary traveling up it. "What the hell?!" He exclaimed in shock, now stepping back.

Ned blinked widening eyes, and Felix was swift to jump up from the podium and head over to them both. The twin made his way over to Turbo, but quickly stopped himself as he caught sight of something else in his peripheral.

"Oh my land!" Felix gasped out, his gaze fixated on Turbo, who, at this point, wasn't all too visible, considering he was covered in a white light.

Ned, on the other hand, felt like he was about to cry. Though, it wasn't the tears he was used to. These, unlike all of the times before, were more out of a shocked happiness. "Oh my God oh my God!" He gasped out.

At Ned's exclamation, Felix turned his attention away from Turbo briefly, though it held itself for longer than he thought it would as a familiar form appeared a short distance away. Said figure blinked open his eyes as the light faded, though he had no time to react as he was just about tackled in a hug by his twin.

"Ted you're back! I-I can't believe it oh my God!" Ned began, his previous hug prompting Ted to gasp out. The emotional twin's ramblings slowly devolved to overwhelmed sobbing as he hugged Ted tighter. "I-I'm so sorry—please forgive me I'm so so sorry! D-don't do that ever again!"

Felix's eyes were wide as saucers as he tried to process what was happening, his mouth dropped and his stance stilled. He managed to move himself as he caught sight of Turbo's familiar red and white colors reappearing, prompting him to run up to the shorter racer. "Turbo—are you okay?!"

"I-I have no idea what just—the pain is gone, I don't—" Turbo, too, suddenly grew still, his gaze fixing on Ted in the distance. "What the fuck?! Ted?!" He cried out, shock more so overtaking him in comparison to Ned's happiness.

Finally, it seemed as though Ted began to realize what was going on, and he was quick to hug Ned back. "W-what happened…?!" He managed, the familiar emotions he'd lost previously now returning all at once.

"I-I don't know—I thought you were gone forever! P-please don't ever leave again!" Ned sobbed out, drawing back to gaze his twin in the eyes. "I-I'm so sorry—I didn't mean any of it I swear!"

"I know—Felix told me that before I...well, I don't remember it well, it's all really fuzzy." Ted replied, his gaze catching sight of Turbo and Felix heading closer. "What the hell just happened?" He repeated, causing Felix to look towards the starting line.

The handyman hadn't noticed that the racer's cars were in their respective places until now, though this confirmed his suspicions. "I think the game just reset itself…!" He replied, returning his attention to the twins before looking to Turbo. "Was it because you won the race?"

"If it was, why didn't it do it during the day?!" Turbo replied, his tone laced with confusion and a bit of annoyance.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Ned spoke up. "You—you didn't race after the kid made you crash, and you hadn't actually glitched before then. M-maybe...the game didn't realize you were really broken until then?"

As much as it was idiotic in Turbo's mind, that made at least a little sense. "Hmm...so that just happens I guess?!" He exclaimed, seeming exasperated. "If someone wins a broken game it just resets?!"

"If the broken character wins the game, then it resets." Felix pointed out, though it was just a suspicion that he deemed to be true. A quiet sigh came from him due to the thought as, for a moment, he wished that the characters of Gravitar had known the same.

Another pause of silence occurred before Ted gazed to Turbo. "I...don't know if this means anything," He began, seeming hesitantly nervous, "But I'm sorry."

Turbo's brows furrowed, his gaze flicking over Ted. "Your sorry doesn't mean anything unless you don't fuck up in the future, you blockhead." He retorted, the statement considerably less hostile than Ted had expected.

"I won't, I promise." Ted replied, trying to sound as genuine as he felt. "I was an idiot and I know that. I'm sorry—to all of you."

A sound from the outside world prompted the four characters to suddenly look upwards towards the orange-hued screen. "Oh—I have to go! If Litwak sees me out of the game, I'm a goner!" Felix gasped out, beginning to run towards the entrance. "You guys better get in your default positions before he gets over here!" He called back. "I'll see you after the arcade closes!"

"See you later!" Ned called, looking to his twin, then to Turbo as Felix disappeared. "C'mon!"

Litwak hummed a small tune as he pushed the cart (used to carry arcade cabinets such as this) towards TurboTime. Upon nearing, he reached forward and gently peeled off the 'Out of Order' sign, though he jolted and smiled at what he saw. "Wow! How did—you guys are back to normal!" He laughed, placing one hand on his hip and resting his other elbow on the handle of the cart.

Turbo, although racing by default, managed to look up towards the screen, a smile on his features as Litwak continued to speak. "Man, your developers must be on the ball with artificial patches these days," The owner began, scratching the side of his head. "Psh, wish I could say the same for other games. Oh how times have changed."

As Turbo turned back forward, he and the twins grinned as they heard Litwak say a final statement upon his departure. "Welp, I guess I won't be needing this! The kids'll be happy to see you back!"

* * *

 _I don't know if you all can tell, but this journey is just about over! One more chapter to go that is very short, just a way to wrap up everything and lead into a possible sequel idea (or, cluster of ideas) that I have! I'm so glad a lot of people liked this, let me know what you think by the end of the next chapter!_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


	21. Chapter 21 - Prologue

Chapter 21 - Epilogue

* * *

In the end, things sure did change.

Felix and Turbo began to grow as friends, for one. The handyman had even taken to try and help Turbo with his developing anger-issues. After all, the racer's code had been reset, leaving him to be as he'd been before: a short fuse, in both a literal and metaphorical sense. He and Felix started hanging out at Burger Time and Tapper's more often, with Ted and Ned included. And, even the twins had started making acquaintances here and there.

But, as years began to pass, it seemed as though Turbo's hard-earned progress was backpedaling. His and his brother's game grew more popular, and it didn't take long for Felix and the twins to notice his ego and pride growing because of it.

At least Ted didn't tamper with it this time.

After a while, as annoying as it was, Ted and Ned began to simply deal with it, taking it as it presented itself. Sure, Turbo was being a jackass, but if that's how it was, then that's how it was.

Nobody really expected it.

May 26th, 1987.

The day that Turbo had gone, well, Turbo.

Maybe Felix had seen the warnings, he swore he did, even though he tried to convince himself otherwise.

The twins were not as lucky.

They had been together. At least that was something.

Loss, pride, and bitterness grew to an inner insanity. Turbo didn't show himself after that. His game was gone, and nobody needed to know he was still alive. Who knew what everyone would do; he was a murderer, not only to his brothers, but to the inhabitants of Roadblasters.

Ten years passed, and his racing days seemed to be over.

That was, until Sugar Rush earned its place in the arcade. Turbo wasted not a moment to take advantage of it all.

He didn't forget the things he'd learned. At first sight of Vanellope's glitch, he knew she could never race again. He couldn't let it happen, or the game would reset.

That worked for a long while, its effect taking hold for over 15 years. Until, well…

You know what happens after that.

* * *

 _Well, that's it! It Only Takes a Couple of Days has been finished!_

 _Now, I've been planning a sequel for this, I don't know how long it'll take me to write it! (considering I haven't even started HHEck)_

 _I just, I want to thank everyone who read this, and to everyone who will read this in the future now that it's all posted! I'm so glad people enjoyed it!_

 _Please leave your final thoughts in the reviews! I'm so curious what everyone thought! And again, thank you SO MUCH AAA_

 _~nightfuryshadows_


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